The volatile components of the floral fragrances from three sweet pea culti
vars have been determined using polymer entrainment and solvent elution, co
mbined with gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry. A total of 48 compounds w
ere detected in quantifiable amounts, 41 of which were common to all three
cultivars. The most abundant compounds were consistently found to be (E)-be
ta-ocimene and linalool. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
.