Population Status and Resin Quality of Frankincense Boswellia neglecta (Burseraceae) Growing in South Omo, Southwestern Ethiopia
2020
Hido, Alemayehu | Tolera, Motuma | Lemma, Bekele | Evangelista, Paul H.
A study was conducted in South Omo Zone, Ethiopia with the aim of assessing the population status of the frankincense tree Boswellia neglecta and investigating its resin essential oil chemical composition. The status of populations of B. neglecta was assessed by examining the density, abundance, frequency, dominance, importance value index, and population structure. Resin sample was analyzed for the physicochemical properties. The composition of the essential oil was analyzed with Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. The high values of density, abundance, frequency, dominance, and importance value index for B. neglecta showed the potential of the tree for bulk resin collection. Boswellia neglecta had a bell-shaped diameter distribution indicating a hampered regeneration. The B. neglecta resin had a moisture content of 2.68%, ash content of 0.99%, pH of 5.7, and oil yield of 5.92%. The resin possessed good quality as compared to resins in other reports. The essential oil was optically active (−31.6° at 23.2°C). The essential oil contained several compounds, but 71.1% of the composition were formed mainly from methyl oleate, methyl linoleate, methyl palmitate, which have not been reported from B. neglecta. Sustainable management must be enacted since the agro-pastoralist mode of life hinders regeneration of the species and its resin resources.
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