Wood, you like this smell? Impact of origin, growth and drying conditions on the smell and general emission profiles of Cembran pine (Pinus cembra L.)

• Applicants: Professorin Dr. Andrea Büttner; Dr. Elisabeth Windeisen-Holzhauser, since 2/2024
• Subject Area: Analytical Chemistry ; Forestry ; Food Chemistry
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 517779233

A couple of wood species are especially rich in volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and some effort has been made to elucidate their volatile composition. Such investigations have often been motivated with regard to the impact of volatile emissions from wood and wood-based materials on indoor air quality, and hence to their potential physiological effects on human health. Wood emissions have thereby often been considered as critical, potentially impacting the airways or causing allergic effects. However, the topic of wood smell lately gains increasingly attention, with respect to the percept of naturalness and its beneficial influence on wellbeing. Insofar, humans are clearly attracted to the smell of mountain forests and trees, and seek relaxation associated with such smells. Cembran pine (Pinus cembra L.) natural wood is an especially appreciated wood species which is also known as the Swiss pine, Arolla pine, Stone pine, and “Queen of the Alps”. It is commonly used in central Europe for furniture-making and is valued for its characteristic and long-lasting odour, which makes it particularly suitable for its use in aromatherapy. This odour has been related to stress relieve via physiological evidence that the smell has been stated to reduce the heart rate, and has also been reported to promote healthy sleep, particularly for individuals sleeping in Cembran pinewood beds. However, only a small number of studies have addressed the composition of the essential oils obtained from needles and cones from Cembran pine. The odorants produced by Cembran wood have likewise not yet been comprehensively resolved. Moreover, little is known about the impact of environmental and drying factors during initial storage on this characteristic wood odour profile. Accordingly, the aim of this project is to resolve the molecular underpinnings of this reportedly beneficial material. The goal of the project is to identify and quantify VOC as well as odorant generation, and establish the relationships to general wood chemistry parameters. In this respect, selected wood samples will be characterized with regard to sugar and extractives content and composition using established standard methods. Moreover, samples from different origins as well as from before and after kiln-drying will be subjected, in an inter-laboratory approach between the two work groups, to complementary analyses comprising multi-dimensional high-resolution as well as comprehensive gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), high-performance liquid chromatography, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and GC-MS with liquid injection after silylation. Furthermore, the wood flour will be analysed via Pyrolysis-GC/MS (Py-GC/MS) as well as Thermodesorption-GC/MS (TD-GC/MS).

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Ehemalige Antragstellerin: Dr. Regina Wanschura, until 1/2024