Volatile aroma constituents of gukhwa (Chrysanthemum morifolium R.)

The aroma composition of gukhwa (Chrysanthemum morifolium R.) was investigated. The volatile flavor compounds were extracted by steam distillation method. The yield of gukhwa essential oil (EO) from gukhwa flowers was 0.1%(w/w), and its color was the light green. Forty-five volatile flavor compounds making up 96.81% of the total volatile composition from the distilled oil were tentatively characterized. It contained 25 hydrocarbons with sesquiterpene hydrocarbon predominating, 7 alcohols, 3 ketones, 3 acids, 2 esters, 3 aldehydes, and 2 ethers. Chrysanthenyl acetate (43.74%) was the most abundant aroma component, and verbenol (27.85%) was also remarkable. The major functional groups of gukhwa EO were terpene ester and alcohol.