The genus Cinnamomum

88 U.M. Senanayake and R.O.B. Wijesekera
Table 3.4 (Continued)
Peak Retention time Compound Relative %
no. (min)
Leaf oil Stem bark oil Root bark oil
53 50.4 Unknown tr tr –
54* 51.8 Phenol 0.02 tr tr
55* 52.5 Caryophyllene oxide 0.52 tr 0.22
56* 52.9 Methyl eugenol 0.01 tr –
57 53.5 Cinnamic aldehyde 1.98 75.0 0.67
58 54.5 Methyl cinnamate 0.03 tr tr
59 55.1 Unknown tr – tr
60* 56.3 Methyl isoeugenol tr – tr
61 56.9 Unknown – – –
62 58.8 Ethyl cinnamate 0.02 – tr
63 60.1 Cinnamyl acetate 1.65 5.01 tr
64 60.6 Eugenol 70.1 2.20 0.45
65 62.9 Unknown tr – –
66 63.8 Acetyl eugenol 2.51 0.16 0.10
67 64.5 Unknown tr tr –
68 65.2 Cinnamyl alcohol 0.38 0.26 0.08
69* 67.1 Farnesol 0.12 0.03 –
70* 68.8 Ioseugenol 0.13 0.02 –
71* 69.2 2-Vinylphenol tr 0.03 –
72* 71.3 Coumarin tr 0.66 –
73* 72.8 Vanillin – tr –
74 79.2 Benzylbenzoate 3.5 0.66 0.25
75* 83.1 2-Phenyl ethyl benzoate tr tr –
Source: Senanayake, 1977.
Notes
– Not detected; * New compound; tr: trace.
(15.4%), whereas C. mindanaense contained eugenol (39.2%), linalool (19.4%), and
safrole (15.0%). The minor compounds were essentially the same as those from C. verum
(Table 3.1). Wijesekera and Jayewardene (1974) studied the volatile oil obtained from
the bark oil of a rare species of cinnamon, C. capparu-coronde (Kostermanns), which is
found in central Sri Lanka and is claimed to have medicinal properties. Capparu-coronde
is a variation of the Sinhala name for the plant Kapuru kurundu that means literally
“camphoraceous odour” of the plant (the species differed from the cultivated species in the
comparatively low quantities of eugenol and cinnamaldehyde). The major constituents
of the oil were linalool (29%), eugenol (23%) and 1,8-cineole (16%); nineteen minor
constituents were established, most of which were similar to those found in C. verum.
C. capparu-coronde is not cultivated, but wild growing varieties are found in the midcountry
rain forests of Sri Lanka. The oil has promising organoleptic characteristics
(see Chapter 16 for more details on related species of Cinnamomum).
High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) of cinnamon oil
Ross (1976) analysed the cinnamon bark and leaf oils for eugenol and cinnamic aldehyde
using the technique of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). By comparing
the relative abundance of each compound in authentic bark oil, it was possible to