Rapid Monitoring of Pharmacological Volatiles of Night-Flowering Evening-Primrose According to Flower Opening or Closing by Fast Gas Chromatography/Surface Acoustic Wave Sensor (Electronic zNose)

IntroductionAroma is important in night-flowering species, as visually they can not be observed well. Thus, the analysis of the volatiles of evening-primrose is of great interest in biological fields and therapy. Furthermore, the analysis of volatiles demands rapid and simple procedure, because volatiles decompose. ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to show the rapid monitoring of the volatiles of evening-primrose according to the flowering or closing by fast gas chromatography/surface acoustic wave GC/SAW. Moreover, calibration according to the sensor temperature of the GC/SAW was performed, achieving a high reproducibility and excellent sensitivity. MethodologyGC/SAW is an effective analytical method that provides on-line measurements without pretreatment of sample. Headspace solid-phase micro-extraction coupled to gas chromatography mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) and dynamic headspace trapping and extraction with GC-MS were employed to confirm the identification of the volatiles of evening-primrose compared to GC/SAW. ResultsLinalool was found to be the dominant component, comprising 96.4-25.2% of the total amount, according to the opening or closing. Interestingly, the amount of indole also varied according to the opening or closing (3.0-0.0%) such as linalool. Also, while the sensitivity increased with the reduction in the sensor temperature of the GC/SAW, the reproducibility showed a tendency to decrease. ConclusionThe results showed that flower opening is related to the volatiles emission, which is pharmacological and plant defensive. GC/SAW can be a useful analytical method for the rapid monitoring of volatiles of evening-primrose according to the opening or closing as it provides second unit analysis, as well as simple, and aroma pattern recognition. Copyright (c) 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Evening primrose that opens at midnight emits the highest quantity of pharmacological linalool. Also, the quantity of indole which influences plant defense systems to protect against insect attack is also the highest, too. Flower opening is related to the volatiles emission, which is pharmacological and plant defensive. Fast GC/SAW can be a useful method for the rapid monitoring of volatiles of evening-primrose according to the opening or closing as it provides second unit analysis, a simple, and aroma pattern recognition.