Volatile constituents of benzoin gums: Siam and Sumatra. Part 1

The volatile extract composition of two different benzoin gums, Siam and Sumatra, were analysed by GC–MS. Twenty components representing more than 99.1% of the oil from Siam and 29 components representing more than 97.4% of the oil from Sumatra were analysed. The major components were benzyl benzoate (76.1–80.1%) for the two oils and benzoic acid (12.5%), methyl benzoate (1.5%) and allyl benzoate (1.5%) for Siam, and styrene (2.3%), cinnamic acid (3.5%) and benzyl cinnamate (3.3%) for Sumatra. Volatile compounds of oils and crushed benzoins were also studied using solid‐phase microextraction (SPME) employing carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane and carbowax/divinylbenzene fibres.