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Vitamin E, including of tocotrienols and tocopherols, is one of miner nutrients that must be acquired regularly from dietary sources. The structure of tocotrienols differs from that of tocopherols by the presence of three trans-double bonds in the hydrocarbon chain. In this study, a reverse-phase HPLC method was used to simultaneously measure the contents of either tocopherols or tocotrienols in the brown rice, and their contents were compared among 18 indica and 16 japonica cultivars. The results showed that the contents of these vitamin E isomers were extremely different between indica and japonica rice, and the mean content of total tocopherol or vitamin E was significantly higher (P<0.01) in japonica rice than in indica rice, while the total tocotrienol content showed no differences between them. The principal isomer of vitamin E was also different between the two subspecies. For example, γ-tocotrienol was the predominant compound in indica rice, on the contrary, in japonica rice, the most abundant isomer was α-tocopherol. The ratio of total tocotrienols to tocopherols was also significantly higher (P<0.01) in indica (1.61) than in japonica rice (0.95). Pearson's correlation analysis demonstrated that α-tocopherol content was positively correlated with α-tocotrienol content in rice. The same relationship was also presented between the contents of γ-tocopherol and γ-tocotrienol, but there was a negative correlation between contents of α-and γ-isomers. These results provide useful information for research on vitamin E metabolism or nutritional improvement in rice.

Rosa rugosa is an important natural perfume plant in China. Rose essential oil is known as ‘liquid gold’ and has high economic and health values. Monoterpenes are the main fragrant components of R. rugosa flower and essential oil. In this study, a member of the hydrolase gene family RrNUDX1 was cloned from Chinese traditional R. rugosa ‘Tang Hong’. Combined analysis of RrNUDX1 gene expression and the aroma components in different development stages and different parts of flower organ, we found that the main aroma component content was consistent with the gene expression pattern. The RrNUDX1 overexpressed Petunia hybrida was acquired via Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation systems. The blades of the transgenic petunias became wider and its growth vigor became strong with stronger fragrance. Gas chromatography with mass spectrometry analysis showed that the contents of the main aroma components of the transgenic petunias including methyl benzoate significantly increased. These findings indicate that the RrNUDX1 gene plays a role in enhancing the fragrance of petunia flowers, and they could lay an important foundation for the homeotic transformation of RrNUDX1 in R. rugosa for cultivating new R. rugosa varieties of high-yield and -quality essential oil.