Analysis of volatile components in flowers of five Sect. Chrysantha species by GC-MS

The volatile components were extd. from 5 species of Sect. Chrysantha by steam distn. and the chem. components were analyzed by gas chromatog.-mass spectrometry. Computer retrieval technol. and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) compd. library retrieval were used for their identification. The relative content of each component was detd. by gas chromatog. with peak area normalization. Fifty-three volatile compds. were detected (18 alkenes, 9 alkanes, 7 aldehydes and 4 aromatics). The volatile constituents in the flowers of 5 species of Sect. Chrysantha were significantly different. After studying Camellia tunghinensis, Camellia impressinervis, Camellia longzhouensis, Camellia pubipetala and Camellia nitidissima flowers, 33, 5, 22, 6 and 9 components (mostly aldehydes and alkanes) were identified, resp. Nonanal, dodecane, hexadecane, Me cyclohexyl dimethoxy silane, gamma-undecalactone, and delta-cadinene were the main components of all Camellia chrysantha plants. Nonanal was the only one common component, with relative contents of 9.36%, 85.29%, 17.08%, 77.16%, and 56.97%, resp. Nonanal was the main aroma component of concave C. impressinervis, C. pubipetala, and C. nitidissima. Me cyclohexyl dimethoxy silane was the main aroma component of C. pubipetala and C. nitidissima, with relative contents of 5.94% and 9.06%, resp. Cyclohexane (19.86%) and nonanal (9.36%) were the main aroma components of C. tunghinensis. gamma-Elemene (18.46%), nonanal (17.08%), and delta-cadinene (10.52%) were the main aroma components of C. longzhouensis. The volatile components played a decisive role in the unique fragrance of individual species of golden camellia. The results provided a ref. for the product development and variety cultivation of the Camellia chrysantha fragrant.