Untargeted flavoromics Provides New Insight into the Impact of High-tunnel and Open-field Production on the Variations of Aroma Profile of Industrial Floral Hemp

Monday, April 29, 2024

5:00 PM – 6:00 PM EDT

Presenting Author(s)

ZIXUAN GU, PhD (he/him/his)

PhD candidate
NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
Fargo, ND, United States

Co-Author(s)

BINGCAN CHEN, PhD (he/him/his)

Professor
NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
FARGO, North Dakota, United States

Abstract: Currently, the research on industrial floral hemp (IFH) is burgeoning, primarily focusing on the functional properties of its cannabinoids, essential oils, and proteins. However, the influence of production systems on the aroma characteristics of IFH remains unclear. In this study, two IFH cultivars SB1 and CJ2 from Sunrise Genetics were employed to investigate the impact of open-filed and high-tunnel production systems on the changes of their aroma profiles via HS-SPME-GC-MS based untargeted flavoromics. The results indicated that the aroma profile of IFH mainly consisted of mono- and sesquiterpenoids, and their respective oxygenated terpenoids. Untargeted flavoromics demonstrated a stronger impact of cultivar variations brought to the aroma profile of IFH than that of production systems, in which more oxygenated terpenoids were developed by CJ2 while sesquiterpenoids were more favored and generated by SB1. With the characterizations of relative odor activity value (ROAV) and aroma character impact (ACI), β-caryophyllene (spicy) and α-Humulene (woody) were outstood as two dominant key aromas contributing to the overall odor of all IFHs. In all, this study revealed variations in the aroma of IFH grown in different environments, providing valuable insights for producers and researchers, and holding potential values for commercial applications and product development.