Abstract:In order to understand the aroma substances of Nymphaea, the volatile components in flowers of 62 cultivars were studied by using Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed that there were 72 volatile components detected from flowers, in which alkenes (26 types), alkanes (11 types), and alcohols (9 types) are the top 3, and there were 53 aromatic components, accounting for 73.60%. Fifty-six volatile components were detected from 40 cultivars of tropical waterlily, including 39 aromatic components, while 37 volatile components from 22 cultivars of hardy waterlily, including 27 aromatic components. The main aroma substances were benzyl acetate, cis-ocimene, benzyl alcohol, farnesene, myrcene, limonene, benzaldehyde, α-isoterpinene, α-pinene, cinnamyl alcohol, β-butanol, etc. According to volatile components and aromatic components of Nymphaea, 62 cultivars could be divided into 3 and 4 groups by using intergroup cosine connection method, respectively. Therefore, these would provide basic information for development and utilization of aroma substances of Nymphaea and the studies on co-evolution of Nymphaea with pollinators.
