Conifer resins are used as chemical raw materials for daily necessities. There have been many reports on the aroma components of turpentine oil from rosin, but there has been no reports on fluctuations in the aroma components through spring to late autumn. We speculated that the aroma components in the essential oils of deciduous coniferous larches might fluctuate during maturation of the foliage. In this study, we focused on the aroma components of larch essential oils and we clarified by multivariate analysis how the aroma components fluctuate during leaf maturation. The results of analysis showed that there was a drastic seasonal fluctuation of the chemical components in larch essential oils, especially in senescent leaves in late autumn. Cryptone and linalool were identified as the characteristic aroma components in essential oil from senescent larch leaves.
Keywords: Abies sachalinensis; Larix leptolepis; Picea glehnii; aroma component fluctuation; foliage essential oils.