Volatile Organic Compounds from Orchis Species Found in Basilicata (Southern Italy)

Abstract

This study is part of a project devoted to determining the scent of all the orchid species present in Basilicata. All the analyses were performed by using the solid-phase microextraction technique coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The scent of eight species belonging to the Orchis genus was investigated. In the case of O. anthropophora, caryophyllene, tetradecanal and hexadecanal were the main components of the aroma; in O. purpurea, 3,5-dimethoxytoluene and elemicin were found; in O. italica, caryophyllene and 4-(3-hydroxy-2-methoxyphenyl)butan-2-one were found; in O. pauciflora, linalool and 1,4-dimethoxybenzene were found; in O. mascula, linalool was found; in O. quadripunctata, penta- and heptadecane were found; in O. provincialis, β-farnesene and farnesal were found; and in O. pallens, curcumene was the main product.