Abstract
Floral fragrance is one of the most important characteristics of ornamental plants and plays a pivotal role in plant lifespan such as pollinator attraction, pest repelling, and protection against abiotic and biotic stresses. However, the precise determination of floral fragrance is limited. In the present study, the floral volatile compounds of six Hedychium accessions exhibiting from faint to highly fragrant were comparatively analyzed via gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and Electronic nose (E-nose). A total of 42 volatile compounds were identified through GC–MS analysis, including monoterpenoids (18 compounds), sesquiterpenoids (12), benzenoids/phenylpropanoids (8), fatty acid derivatives (2), and others (2). In Hedychium coronarium ‘ZS’, H. forrestii ‘Gaoling’, H. ‘Jin’, H. ‘Caixia’, and H. ‘Zhaoxia’, monoterpenoids were abundant, while sesquiterpenoids were found in large quantities in H. coccineum ‘KMH’. Hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) divided the 42 volatile compounds into four different groups (I, II, III, IV), and Spearman correlation analysis showed these compounds to have different degrees of correlation. The E-nose was able to group the different accessions in the principal component analysis (PCA) corresponding to scent intensity. Furthermore, the pattern-recognition findings confirmed that the E-nose data validated the GC–MS results. The partial least squares (PLS) analysis between floral volatile compounds and sensors suggested that specific sensors were highly sensitive to terpenoids. In short, the E-nose is proficient in discriminating Hedychium accessions of different volatile profiles in both quantitative and qualitative aspects, offering an accurate and rapid reference technique for future applications.
Highlights
Hedychium belongs to the family Zingiberaceae and is an economically important crop grown extensively for its ornamental and medicinal properties
Chemical Composition of Floral Volatiles Analyzed via headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS–SPME)–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS)
To determine the floral volatile compounds of Hedychium accessions, their volatile compounds were subjected to HS–SPME–GC–MS, and the identified volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were compared (Supplementary Figure S1)
Summary
Hedychium belongs to the family Zingiberaceae and is an economically important crop grown extensively for its ornamental and medicinal properties. The flowers of Hedychium are widely used in perfumed and cosmetic industries, while rhizome is used for medicinal purposes [1,2,3]. There are more than 80 Hedychium species that have been reported; new species are still emerging [4,5,6]. Hedychium species are diverse in color with numerous shapes. With respect to their floral scent, Hedychium species vary from scentless to rich in fragrance with high ornamental values [6,7,8]. The main focus has been on the physio-biochemical properties of Hedychium; there are few reports on the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the floral volatile profiles of Hedychium
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