• Food Quality and Culture
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.13-17
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• 2007

The volatile flavor compounds of Saussurea lappa C.B. Clarke, a perennial, aromatic and medicinal herbaceous plant of the Asteraceae family, were isolated by the hydro distillation extraction method using a Clevenger-type apparatus, and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The plant yielded a light yellow colored oil (0.02%, v/w). From S. lappa C.B. Clarke root oil, sixty-three volatile flavor compounds were tentatively identified, among which sesquiterpene was predominant (21.70%). The identified compounds of the root oil constituted 87.47% of the total peak area. From the constituents making up more than 5% of the volatile flavor components, a long-chain aldehyde, (7Z, 10Z, 13Z)-7, 10, 13-hexadecatrienal, was the most abundant volatile flavor compound (21.20%), followed by dehydrocostuslactone (10.30%) belonging to sesquiterpene lactone, valerenol (5.30%) and vulgarol B (5.06%).