Variations in volatile oil yields and compositions of Magnolia zenii Cheng flower buds at different growth stages

• Published in: Trees (Berlin, West) Vol. 29; no. 6; pp. 1649 - 1660
• Main Authors: Hu, M. L, Li, Y. Q, Bai, M, Wang, Y. L, Wu, H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-12-2015; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agriculture; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Buds; chemical composition; developmental stages; economic valuation; Environmental conditions; environmental factors; flowering; Flowers; Forestry; Gas chromatography; gas chromatography-mass spectrometry; Life Sciences; Magnolia; Mass spectrometry; Oil; oils; Original Article; perfumes; Plant Anatomy/Development; Plant Pathology; Plant Physiology; Plant Sciences; solar radiation; temperature; trees; volatile compounds; Oil cell; Cheng; GC–MS; Flower development; Volatile oil
• ISSN: 0931-1890; 1432-2285
• DOI: 10.1007/s00468-015-1245-9

KEY MESSAGE : The volatile oil yields and compositions of Magnolia zenii flower at different growth stages had significant differences. Moreover, the yields was influenced by the density of cells and degree of oil accumulation. To investigate the variations of the contents and chemical compositions of volatile oil in Magnolia zenii flower, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and microscopic techniques were employed to detect the volatile compounds of M. zenii flowers at various growth stages. The results indicated that the volatile oil yields in M. zenii flower at different growth stages had significant differences, which were not only closely related to the internal factors of the oil cell densities and oil accumulation degree, but they were also related to the external factors of environmental conditions. With the appropriate temperatures and long sunshine in October of 2013, the flower buds had the maximum percentage of oil cells at the oil saturation stage and the highest density of oil cells (164.50 n/mm²), which coincided with the highest oil yield (11.61 %). With a sharp decline in the temperature and sunshine in November of 2013, the volatile oil yield was significantly lower (5.02 %). In the full flowering stage in March of 2014, flower buds had a higher percentage of oil cells at the oil degrading stage and the lowest oil cell density (23.75/mm²), resulting in the lowest oil yield (3.07 %). Abundant medicinal components and perfume components in the M. zenii flower were detected by GC–MS analysis, which had significant pharmacological effects or could serve as perfume materials. These results provided reference information for the economic value evaluation and rational utilization of the M. zenii flower.