Abstract
We describe determination of the dichloromethane-soluble components of 12 samples of the natural product, ambergris, using capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Ambergris is produced in vivo in about 1% of Sperm whales and is used in perfumery and for odour fixation. Whilst descriptions of ambergris chemistry appeared until about 40 years ago, few accounts of analyses of whole extracts of multiple samples of ambergris by GC-MS have been published before. As expected, our analyses revealed that the major component (up to 97% of the dichloromethane-soluble material) was ambrein, with co-occurring, variable proportions of steroids. Moreover, we report apparently for the first time, mass spectra and retention indices of derivatised ambrein. These data should now allow reliable, rapid confirmation of even small amounts of jetsam, archived museum and customs samples of ambergris and an assessment of ambergris 'quality'.
DOI
10.1080/14786419.2017.1290618
Publication Date
2017-02-16
Publication Title
Natural Product Research
ISSN
1478-6419
Embargo Period
2018-02-16
Organisational Unit
Faculty of Science and Engineering
Recommended Citation
Rowland, S. J., & Sutton, P. (2017) 'Chromatographic and spectral studies of jetsam and archived ambergris', Natural Product Research, . Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/14786419.2017.1290618
