Solid-phase microextraction of volatile components from natural grassland plants

The volatile components from nine plants growing on natural grasslands in Auvergne, central France, selected for the broad qualitative and quantitative diversity of their terpenoid fractions, were analyzed by high-resolution gas-phase chromatography and mass spectrometry (HRGC-MS) after static headspace solid-phase microextraction (SHS-SPME). SHS-SPME allowed all the plant material to be analyzed under the same conditions despite its wide-ranging composition. This is not always possible with other extraction methods. Using an apolar poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) phase, numerous terpenoid hydrocarbons, together with alcohols, cyclic ethers, and esters, were extracted. Its ease of use and the high resolution of the chromatographic profiles obtained make SHS-SPME well suited to the rapid characterization of the main components of the volatile fraction of plants. Of the nine plants studied, four (Meum athamanticum, Pimpinella saxifraga, Achillea millefolium, and Thymus pulegioides) exhaled more than 60 different volatile components. Certain terpenes present in large amounts in these plants might help link dairy products to grazing pasture, thus improving food traceability.