Odour gradients and patterns in volatile emission of different plant parts and developing fruits of grapefruit (Citrus paradisi L.)

The volatiles spontaneously emitted in vivo by different plant parts of grapefruit (Citrus paradisi Macf., Rutaceae) were collected by solid phase micro-extraction (SPME) during the whole vegetative cycle of the plant and characterised by GC-MS to verify their involvement in entomophilous pollination, a controversial topic in the biology of this species, Furthermore, the essential oils obtained by expression of the pericarp from unripe and ripe fruits were studied. Altogether 127 compounds were identified, accounting from 82.1% to 99.9% of the whole volatiles. The main constituents detected were mono- and sesquiterpenes, with limonene (0.5-95.2%), linalool (0.2-52.5%), sabinene (0.5-42.5%), myrcene (0.2-15.4%), and P-caryophyllene (0.3-41.0%) as the most represented ones. All the data were submitted to multivariate statistical analysis, highlighting many differences amongst the different plant parts and their developmental stages. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.