Effects of 20 fungal species on compositions of essential oils from Aquilaria sinensis trees

Objective To determine the effect of 20 different fungi on compositions of essential oils from agarwood of Aquilaria sinensis.

Method The whole-tree agarwood-inducing technique was used, and culture fluids of 20 fungal species were injected into A. sinensis trees separately. The chemical compositions of extracts from the 20 treatments were investigated using GC-MS method.

Result The ethanol extract contents were above 10% from A. sinensis trees infected by seven fungal species including Lasiodiplodia theobromae, Penicillium meleagrinum, Trichoderma atroviride, T. koningiopsis, Pen. italicum, Fusarium solani and Botryosphaeria rhodina. The total relative contents of sesquiterpenes, aromatics compounds and 2-(2-phenylethyl) chromone derivatives were 21.57%, 21.85%, 24.02%, 22.83%, 23.49%, 25.15% and 24.84% respectively. For the rest 13 treatments, the ethanol extract contents were below 10%, the main detected ingredients were fatty acids and alkanes, the total relative contents of sesquiterpenes and aromatics compounds were only 2.67% to 7.88%, and no 2-(2-phenylethyl) chromone derivative was detected.

Conclusion Among the 20 fungal species, seven species can efficiently induce agarwood formation in A. sinensis, and the effects of the rest 13 species are not obvious.