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.