ENANTIOMERIC DISTRIBUTION STUDIES OF LINALOOL AND LINALYL ACETATE - APOWERFUL TOOL FOR AUTHENTICITY CONTROL OF ESSENTIAL OILS

The enantiomeric distributions of linalool and linalyl acetate in vari ous natural products are measured by enantioselective gas chromatograp hy on alkyl-substituted cyclodextrins. Different plant cultivars were investigated by four extraction processes: steam distillation, solvent extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, and headspace analysis, C areful attention must be paid to linalool which undergoes partial race mization under certain processing conditions. In most cases, enantiome ric distribution is a powerful tool for authenticity testing.