Solid-phase microextraction of volatile compounds from the fragrant liverwort Drepanolejeunea madagascariensis Steph. (Grolle)

International audienceThree populations of the epiphyllous liverwort Drepanolejeunea madagascariensis collected in the cloud forests of Réunion Island (Mascarenes archipelago) were investigated for their volatile compounds because of its pleasant, sweet, warm, woody-spicy and herbaceous fragrance, slightly reminiscent of dill. By applying the headspace solid phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) technique coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis, 34 compounds were detected in total with p-menth-1-en-9-ol (28.8-43.5%), limonene (10.5-14.7%), β-phellandrene (8.8-11.6%), and the so-called dill ether (8.5-16.6%) as the main components. The presence of 1-epi-α-pinguisene confirms the possible use of pinguisane-type sesquiterpenoids as a characteristic chemical marker for the order Jungermanniales