Abstract
Prunus mume is a traditional ornamental plant, which owed a unique floral scent. However, the diversity of the floral scent in P. mume cultivars with different aroma types was not identified. In this study, the floral scent of eight P. mume cultivars was studied using headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and organic solvent extraction (OSE), combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In total, 66 headspace volatiles and 74 endogenous extracts were putatively identified, of which phenylpropanoids/benzenoids were the main volatile organic compounds categories. As a result of GC-MS analysis, benzyl acetate (1.55–61.26%), eugenol (0.87–6.03%), benzaldehyde (5.34–46.46%), benzyl alcohol (5.13–57.13%), chavicol (0–5.46%), and cinnamyl alcohol (0–6.49%) were considered to be the main components in most varieties. However, the volatilization rate of these main components was different. Based on the variable importance in projection (VIP) values in the orthogonal partial least-squares discriminate analysis (OPLS-DA), differential components of four aroma types were identified as biomarkers, and 10 volatile and 12 endogenous biomarkers were screened out, respectively. The odor activity value (OAV) revealed that several biomarkers, including (Z)-2-hexen-1-ol, pentyl acetate, (E)-cinnamaldehyde, methyl salicylate, cinnamyl alcohol, and benzoyl cyanide, contributed greatly to the strong-scented, fresh-scented, sweet-scented, and light-scented types of P. mume cultivars. This study provided a theoretical basis for the floral scent evaluation and breeding of P. mume cultivars.
Highlights
The flower scent is an important trait of ornamental plants that affects the commercial value of flowers
The headspace volatiles and endogenous extracts of eight P. mume cultivars with four aroma types were analyzed by headspace solid-phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) and organic solvent extraction (OSE) combined with gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry (GC-MS), respectively
The components of eight P. mume cultivars from strong-scented, fresh-scented, sweetscented, and light-scented types were analyzed by headspace solid-phase microextraction/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
Summary
The flower scent is an important trait of ornamental plants that affects the commercial value of flowers. It attracts specific pollinators and seed communicators. It was known that the floral scent is a complex of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) [3]. Due to the change of vapor pressure, a small number of compounds emitted from flowers and collected by the headspace method are called headspace volatiles. Most of the compounds that remained in flower tissues and were extracted by solvent are called endogenous extracts [3,9]. It was shown that the diversity of floral scents is caused by the changes of endogenous extracts content and the evaporation of headspace volatiles [3]. It is necessary to analyze the headspace volatiles and endogenous extracts independently so as to obtain the relative contribution to the final aroma components [3,10,11]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
