Analysis of the volatile compounds of flowers and essential oils from Lavandula angustifolia cultivated in northeastern Italy by headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography mass spectrometry

Headspace solid-phase microextraction (HSSPME) coupled to gas chromatography and mass spectrometry using the divinyl/carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (DVB-CAR-PDMS) fibre was applied for the analysis of aroma profiles of Lavandula angustifolia L. flowers and the corresponding essential oils. The optimal sampling time was determined by studying the equilibrium time profile of the major volatile compounds for the lavender flowers (50 min) and the essential oil (20 min). Comparative analysis of L. angustifolia L. cultivated in Friuli Venezia Giulia (northeastern Italy) highlighted that the contents of linalool and linalyl acetate were the major differences between the composition of flowers and the hydro-distilled products. Lavender essential oil from Middle-Friuli Venezia Giulia was evaluated as the highest quality for its high level of linalyl acetate (31.7%) and linalool (45.0%) and low percentage of camphor (0.5%). The use of head-space SIPME was shown to be a convenient and effective analytical tool for the sampling of volatile compounds and it could be used to test the quality of flowers and essential oils from Lavandula species.