Volatile Fingerprint of Italian Populations of Orchids Using Solid Phase Microextraction and Gas Chromatography Coupled with Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

Abstract:The volatile fraction of Ophrys sphegodes Mill. subsp. sphegodes, Ophrys bertolonii subsp. benacensis (Reisigl) O. Danesch, E. Danasch & Ehrend. and Neotinea tridentata (Scop.) R.M. Bateman, Pridgeon & M.W. Case, three orchid species with different pollinator attraction strategies, sampled in vivo and in situ, were evaluated by headspace solid phase microextraction coupled with gas-chromatography and mass spectrometry. The results were compared with the volatile compounds emitted by flowering plant samples picked from the same populations of orchid species. Hydrocarbons, aldehydes, alcohols and terpenes were the major constituents of "in vivo" orchid scents and some distinctive differences in volatile metabolite composition were observed between Ophrys and Neotinea species. Moreover, the odour bouquets of the picked flowering plant samples were different from the in vivo ones and in particular different proportions of the various terpenes and an increase of α-pinene were observed. In conclusion HS/SPME GCMS proved to be a suitable technique for analyzing and distinguishing the volatile fingerprint of different orchid species, sampled in vivo and in situ in a non-disruptive way, with potentially great advantages for ecophysiological studies of rare and endangered species.

The Odour of Sex: Sex-Related Differences in Volatile Compound Composition among Barn Swallow Eggs Carrying Embryos of Either Sex

“…All analyses were performed according to Manzo and co-workers [46]. For Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction (HS-SPME), the eggs were placed in a 20 mL headspace glass vial fitted with a cap equipped with a silicone/polytetrafluoroethylene septum (Supelco).…”

Characterization and Antioxidant Activity of Essential Oil of Four Sympatric Orchid Species

“…A high percentage of saturated hydrocarbons has been detected in the volatile fraction of all the four Italian sympatric orchid species. The presence of saturated hydrocarbons in higher percentage with respect to other published research [28] is probably due to the different extraction procedures like solid-phase microextraction that work at lower extraction temperatures. In detail, a series of homologous linear chain compounds ranged from C 9 to C 29 have been reported for all the terrestrial and epiphytic orchids.…”

Applications of In Vivo and In Vitro Solid-Phase Microextraction Techniques in Plant Analysis

“…The SPME device was fixed besides the glass funnel, with the hollow SPME needle stuck through the aluminum foil, exposing the fiber close to the flower. Through the study of scent production by Petunia Mitchell flowers, Verdonk et al demonstrated that SPME coupled to GC-MS is an outstanding tool to measure the volatile production by flowers in vivo, and the similar result was confirmed by Manzo et al [71]. Song et al analyzed the VOCs emitted from living daffodil flowers with in vivo SPME by the similar device [72].…”