Analytical Characterization of Aquilaria Species Essential Oils Using Advanced Chromatographic Techniques Based on GC-MS and GC-FID

This study provides a comprehensive analysis of essential oils from four Aquilaria species—Aquilaria Beccariana, Aquilaria Malaccensis, Aquilaria Crassna, and Aquilaria Subintegra—using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID). A total of 720 samples were analyzed, focusing on six key compounds: <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\beta$</tex>-selinene, dihydro-<tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\beta$</tex>-agarofuran, <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\delta$</tex>-guaiene, 10-epi-<tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\gamma$</tex>-eudesmol, <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\gamma$</tex>-eudesmol, and pentadecanoic acid. Descriptive statistics and normality assessments, including the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, were performed using SPSS to evaluate the distribution and variability of these compounds. The results reveal significant biochemical differences among the species, with Aquilaria Beccariana showing dominance of dihydro-<tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\beta$</tex>-agarofuran and Aquilaria Malaccensis exhibits high concentrations of 10-epi-<tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\gamma$</tex>-eudesmol, indicating distinct metabolic profiles for each species. Normality tests suggest that most compound data approximate normal distributions. These findings provide new insights into the unique biochemical compositions of the Aquilaria species, improving species classification accuracy. The research also has broader implications for agarwood conservation strategies and industrial applications, particularly in the essential oils and fragrance industries.