Postharvest fragrance dynamics of different scented cut lilies: Insights from HS–SPME–GC–MS and electronic nose

Abstract

Lilies (Lilium spp.) are important scented cut flowers, with fragrance being one of their most crucial ornamental traits. However, there are few reports on the rapid and efficient detection of postharvest fragrance quality in cut lilies. This study evaluated the floral scents of ten cut lily cultivars at four stages of aging using HS–SPME–GC–MS and an electronic nose. A total of 51 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were detected by HS–SPME–GC–MS. Monoterpenoids were the predominant compounds in the fragrances of 'White Present', 'Bai Xue Gong Zhu', 'Manissa', 'Sorbonne', 'Touchstone', 'Robina', and 'Yelloween', while benzenoids/phenylpropanoids were predominant in 'Cali', 'Roselily Isabella', and 'Wanxia'. The electronic nose sensors W1W, W2W, and W5S were more sensitive to the floral scents of these cut lily cultivars. Correlation analysis indicated good consistency between the GC–MS and E–nose detection results (r = 0.79, p < 0.01). PLS–DA and Random Forest analyses highlighted (E)-β-ocimene, methyl benzoate, eucalyptol, and sensors W2S, W1S, W3S, and W2W as critical elements for differentiating fragrance quality at various stages of cut lilies. Furthermore, PLS regression analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between the W2W sensor and key VOCs, including (E)-β-ocimene, α-terpinene, α-phellandrene, terpinolene, β-myrcene, allo-ocimene, creosol, and cosmen. Additionally, W3S and W6S sensors showed strong positive correlations with methyl tiglate. These sensors can serve as potential markers for the corresponding compound concentrations, indicating that monitoring these sensor responses can rapidly detect the important fragrance compounds in cut lilies. The results provide a potential method for the efficient and rapid detection of postharvest floral scent quality in cut lilies. Utilizing the real-time detection advantage of the electronic nose can enhance the efficiency of postharvest fragrance quality detection in cut lilies by several orders of magnitude.