Analysis and Identification of Floral Volatile Components Among Different Prunus mume Cultivars Based on ATDSBSEGCGCTOF MS

INTRODUCTION: Prunus mume, a traditional famous flower in China, boasts diverse cultivars and extensive applications, and has emerged as a model plant for investigating the synthesis and emission of benzene ring-containing compounds. However, the differences in floral scent diversity across P. mume cultivars have not been systematically clarified. RATIONALE: This study employed automated thermal desorption–stir bar sorptive extraction–comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography–time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ATD–SBSE–GC×GC–TOF MS) to analyze the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of six flowering P. mume cultivars at full-bloom stage.This not only provides a novel analytical method, but also is expected to offer valuable references for floral scent breeding and the expansion of commercial products derived from P. mume floral fragrance. RESULTS: A total of 70 volatile compounds were identified, encompassing 24 phenylpropanoids/benzenoids, 27 fatty acid derivatives, 16 terpenoids, one aromatic carboxylic acid derivative, one alcohol, and one heterocyclic compound. Among them, β-ionol, 2,3-dihydrobenzofuran, and methyl dihydrojasmonate were reported in P. mume for the first time. Phenylpropanoids/benzenoids compounds dominated absolutely in terms of relative content across all tested cultivars. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed based on the relative contents of volatile components to achieve preliminary clustering of the six cultivars. Ten key differential components with variable importance in the projection (VIP) values greater than 1, such as benzyl benzoate and benzaldehyde, were screened out through orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). Combined with odor activity value (OAV) and relative odor activity value (ROAV), characteristic substances contributing greatly to floral fragrance, including eugenol, β-ionone, benzaldehyde, and 2E,4Z-decadienal, were further identified. Based on the clustering analysis of aroma substances with OAV > 1, the six cultivars were divided into two groups with similar aroma characteristics: the first group contained ‘Caishan Gongfen’, ‘Kouban Dahong’ and ‘Guhong Chuizhi’, while the second group consisted of ‘Chongban Fenkou’, ‘Liu Lve’ and ‘Duo E Zhusha’. CONCLUSION: This study systematically screened the characteristic aroma compounds of different P. mume cultivars, providing a high sensitivity and high resolution method for floral scent profiling of P. mume and offering a basis for developing commercial products with distinctive fragrance characteristics.