Floral fragrance chemistry in the early flowering shrub Daphne mezereum

• The floral fragrance of the shrub Daphne mezereum in central Sweden was collected by means of the head-space technique and investigated by GC-MS and multi-dimensional GC. (S)-(+)-Linalool was the main constituent (95%) of the flower fragrance and its enantiomeric purity exceeded 99% in the samples. The (2S, 5S)- and (2R, 5S)-furanoid and the (3R, 6S)- and (3S, 6S)-pyranoid linalool oxide isomers constituted 2-5% of the fragrance. The elution order of these compounds on a permethylated beta-cyclodextrin column is reported. A fragrance sample of D. mezereum as well as (S)-(+)-linalool attracted males of the vernal solitary bee species Colletes cunicalarius and Andrena cinerea. A racemic mixture of the two enantiomeric pairs of known furanoid linalool oxides was only weakly attractive to the bees. The role of the fragrance in the pollination specialization of the plant is discussed.

Keyword

daphne mezereum

thymelaeaceae

pollination

floral fragrance

(s)-(+)-linalool

linalool oxides

ocimene

chirality

enantiomer

colletes

andrena

pollination

orchidaceae

Ecological chemistry

Ekologisk kemi

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)