Varietal differences of extracts from blackcurrant buds (Ribes nigrum L.)

Examination of the volatile constituents of blackcurrants (Ribes nigrum L.) was undertaken to examine differences in varietal extracts. The compositions of extracts from 10 cultivars grown in southern Tasmania were determined by gas chroma‐tography and mass spectrometry. The patterns of association of the 34 components measured were analysed by principal co‐ordinate analysis, the co‐ordinates being plotted in four dimensions. A close association between oils extracted from selections belonging firstly to the Goliath and Baldwin groups, and secondly to the Boskoop and French groups, has been revealed. This analysis confirms the relationships proposed by Todd in his phenotypic key for identification. The results are discussed in the light of previously distinguished monoterpene and sesquiterpene phenotypes.