Enantiomeric distribution of α‐pinene, β‐pinene and limonene in essential oils and extracts. Part 1. Rutaceae and gramineae

Abstract Multidimensional gas chromatography (MDGC) employing heart‐cutting from a Carbowax 20M coated precolumn onto a heptakis (2, 3, 6‐tri‐O‐methyl)‐β‐cyclodextrin coated chiral main column allows the direct stereodifferentiation of α‐pinene, β‐pinene and limonene from complex matrices. Commercially available essential oils of Rutaceae and Gramineae, as well as self‐prepared peel extracts of Rutaceae were directly analysed without any further clean‐up. The enantiomeric distribution of the monoterpenes from the essential oils and the peel extracts was investigated.