Comparative Analysis of the Volatile Components in the Fresh Roots and Rhizomes of Curcuma wenyujin by Static Headspace Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry

Static headspace GC-MS method coupled with H/D exchange was firstly developed to determine and identify the volatile components in the fresh root and rhizome of Curcuma wenyujin. The TIC chromatograms of 3 batches of fresh roots harvested at different time showed significant difference in the volatile components:the constitution was the same but the content of them was different. More than 60 volatile components in fresh roots (Root of C. wenyujin) and rhizomes (Rhizome of C. wenyujin) of C. wenyujin were detected, of which 51 and 48 volatile components were identified respectively. The fresh roots and rhizomes of C. wenyujin were found to have the similar volatile components. The contents of these components were calibrated by the response of β-elemene. In addition, the principal active component, β-elemene, was further confirmed and relatively quantified by its standard. γ-terpinene showed obvious allylic hydrogen/deuterium exchange using deuterium oxide which gave a new method to identify some compounds containing allylic hydrogen. At the same time, the active hydrogen compounds were also further confirmed. The results show that HS-GC-MS method is a fast, simple and efficient way for the analysis of volatile components from medical plants.