Analysis of Volatile Components in Three Peony Petals by HS-SPME-GC/MS

In order to clarify the aroma components and differences of different varieties of peony flowers, HS-SPME-GC/MS were employed to analyze the volatile compounds in the petals of Paeonia ostii T.Hong et J.X.Zhang, Paeonia suffruticosa ‘Xiang yu’ and ‘P.High Noon’. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) made by SPSS 22.0, principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) made by SIMCA14.1 were all applied to find differential components of the volatile compounds. By searching of NIST 17 mass spectra library, comparing the retention index with those in the literatures and searching for relative literatures, a total of 115 compounds, including 20 aldehydes, 3 ketones, 27 alcohols, 2 acids, 22 esters, 13 saturated hydrocarbons, 17 olefins and 11 others were characterized, showing great differences among three kinds of Paeonia in species and contents of the aroma components. A total of 19 differential components of three Paeonia petals were found through PCA and OPLS-DA, of which 12 differential components were between Paeonia ostii T.Hong et J.X.Zhang and Paeonia suffruticosa ‘Xiang yu’, 10 between Paeonia suffruticosa ‘Xiang yu’ and ‘P.High Noon’, 12 between Paeonia ostii T.Hong et J.X.Zhang and ‘P.High Noon’. Paeonia ostii T.Hong et J.X.Zhang had a characteristic of green aroma while ‘P.High Noon’ pocessed a sweeter aroma. The aroma of Paeonia suffruticosa ‘Xiang yu’ was moderate compared with the other two species. The results of the study would have great significance to the development of different edible peony flavors.