Investigating the volatilome of sandalwood powder using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Abstract

Sandalwood (Santalum album L.) is one of the costliest wood in the world and its characteristic aroma is highly prized in various ancient medicines for its innumerable therapeutic properties.
Although, components called α-santalol and β-santalol are primarily responsible for the evergreen fragrance of sandalwood and its many therapeutic benefits, but Sandalwood are filled with several natural chemicals that act in synergy to create a range of health-promoting effects. The presence of various volatile and non-volatile components responsible for imparting characteristic aroma and the various health benefits associated with sandalwood & its essential oils. The distribution and the ratios of these different components determine the value of the Sandalwood hence sandal wood in commercial markets is highly prone to adulteration. This study focusses on the use of two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC–TOF MS) to investigate the Sandalwood powder. This advanced analytical technique provides an increase in separation capacity to resolve the complexity of the sandalwood volatile profile and uncover components that cannot be resolved with one-dimensional GCMS techniques. Here, GC×GC–TOF MS revealed a total of 64 peaks in a sandalwood powder, tentative identifications performed against commercial mass spectral libraries. We describe how this novel approach can provide fast and accurate identification of authentic sandalwood samples with qualitative and quantitative determination of adulterants.