GC-MS Composition and Olfactory Profile of Concretes from the Flowers of Four <i>Nicotiana</i> Species

• Main Authors: Venelina Popova, Tanya Ivanova, Albena Stoyanova, Violeta Nikolova, Tsveta Hristeva, Valtcho D. Zheljazkov
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-06-01
• Series: Molecules
• Subjects: aromatic products; concretes; <i>N. rustica</i>; <i>N. alata</i>; <i>N. glutinosa</i>; <i>N. tabacum</i>
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/25/11/2617

The genus <i>Nicotiana</i> (Solanaceae) includes over 70 species, with a long history of traditional use; many of them are nowadays used in bioengineering, biosynthesis, molecular biology, and other studies, while common tobacco, <i>N. tabacum</i> L., is one of the most economically important industrial crops worldwide. Although <i>Nicotiana</i> species have been extensively investigated, relatively less research has focused on flowers, especially research related to obtaining aromatic products for cosmetic and perfumery use. On the other hand, there is evidence that <i>Nicotiana</i> flowers accumulate various secondary metabolites with a distinct aroma and biological activities, and the flowers represent a biomass available in sufficient quantities. Therefore, this study aimed to determinate the chemical composition (by GC-MS) and the olfactory profiles of a specific type of natural aromatic product (concrete), obtained from the flowers of four <i>Nicotiana</i> species, in a direct comparison between them. The yields of extracted concrete were sufficiently high, varying between the species, 1.4% (<i>N. rustica</i> L.), 2.5% (<i>N. glutinosa</i> L.), 1.6% (<i>N. alata</i> Link&Otto genotype with white flowers), 2.7% (<i>N. alata</i> genotype with pink flowers), 3.2% (<i>N. tabacum</i>, Oriental type), and 5.2% (<i>N. tabacum</i>, Virginia type). The major components of the obtained concretes belonged to different chemical classes: <i>N. rustica</i> and <i>N. tabacum</i> (OR), the hydrocarbons <i>n</i>-tetratriacontane (14.5%; 15.0%) and <i>n</i>-triacontane (12.1%; 13.3%), and 3-methyl-pentanoic acid (11.1%; 12.2%); <i>N. glutinosa</i>, the diterpenes sclareol (25.9%), 3-α-hydroxy-manool (16.3%), and 13-epimanool (14.9%); <i>N. alata</i> (WF), the phenylpropanoid terephthalic acid and di(2-ethylhexyl) ester (42.9%); <i>N. alata</i> (PF), the diterpene tributyl acetylcitrate (30.7%); and <i>N. tabacum</i> (FCV), the hydrocarbons <i>n</i>-hexacosane (12.9%) and <i>n</i>-pentacosane (12.9%). Each of the flower concretes revealed a characteristic odor profile. This is the first report about <i>Nicotiana</i> species as a source for obtaining flower concretes; these initial results about the concrete yield, olfactory profile, and chemical composition are a prerequisite for the possible processing of <i>Nicotiana</i> flowers into new aromatic products for use in perfumery and cosmetics. The study provides new data in favor of the potential of the four <i>Nicotiana</i> species as aromatic plants, as well as a possible alternative use of flowers, a valuable, but discarded, plant material in other applications.