Discrimination of tulip cultivars with different floral scents using sensory assessment, electronic nose, and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry.

Floral scent holds significant aesthetic and biological values. However, tulips have received less attention for their floral fragrance than the vibrant petal colors and exquisite bud shapes. Here, sensory assessment, E-nose, and HS-SPME-GC-MS were carried out to determine the scent intensity and characteristics of 14 tulip cultivars. Based on their scent intensity, the cultivars were divided into four groups, among which group Ⅰ was the most aromatic (M S = 4.20), followed by group Ⅱ (3.03 ≤ M S ≤ 3.97), group Ⅲ (2.43 ≤ M S ≤ 2.77), and finally group Ⅳ (1.00 ≤ M S ≤ 1.57). Compared with the sensory assessment, E-nose also categorized the 14 tulips into four categories according to the multi-dimensional sensor responses, suggesting a relatively strong relationship between them (R2 ≈ 0.57), and consistently confirming the scientific evaluation of tulip cultivars' scent. For HS-SPME-GC-MS analysis, 21 volatiles were putatively detected, mainly aliphatics (9, 42.86 %), terpenoids (7, 33.33 %), and benzenoids/phenylpropanoids (4, 19.05 %). Octanal, nonanal, phenylethyl alcohol, and phenylacetaldehyde (17.82 ≤ ROAV ≤ 100) were key components in T. 'Delta Queen', contributing to its distinctive aroma reminiscent of citrus and rosy. T. 'Spryng Break' cultivar contained octanal, eucalyptol, and nonanal (22.51 ≤ ROAV ≤ 100), imparting citrusy and herbal aromas. The fragrance of T. 'Lion King' is likely a blend of citrus, grassy, and green scents due to the presence of nonanal and hexanal (71.81 ≤ ROAV ≤ 100). In T. 'Red Judo', octanal, nonanal, and decanal (10.64 ≤ ROAV ≤ 100) combined to create its pure citrus aroma. These findings are expected to provide a valuable reference for tulip floral fragrance analysis, establish a theoretical foundation for its fragrant germplasm breeding, and promote the development of tulip fragrance industry. • Octanal, nonanal, phenylethyl alcohol, and phenylacetaldehyde contributed to citrus and rosy odor of T. 'Delta Queen'. • Octanal, eucalyptol, and nonanal in T. 'Spryng Break' impart citrusy and herbal aromas. • T. 'Lion King' may be have a blend of citrus, grassy, and green scents for the presence of nonanal and hexanal. • Octanal, nonanal, and decanal combined to create the pure citrus aroma of T. 'Red Judo'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]