Volatile flavour compounds in suspension culture of Agastache rugosa Kuntze (Korean mint)

For the production of volatile flavour compounds from Agastache rugosa Kunt ze (Korean mint) suspension culture, callus was obtained from the leaves of A rugosa. Cell growth of A rugosa suspension culture was improved when cel ls were cultivated in Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 50 g l(- 1) sucrose and 1 mg l(-1) 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. Volatiles were is olated from a 15-day-old suspension culture by liquid-liquid continuous ext raction and identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. 3-Hydroxy-2 -butanone was the most abundant compound, followed by 2,4,5-trimethyl-3-oxa zoline, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene and 1,3-butanediol. However, the volatile pr ofile of the suspension culture was totally different from that of the inta ct plant. Fourteen aroma-active compounds were detected by aroma extract di lution analysis. The most potent aroma-active compounds representing charac teristic aroma of A rugosa suspension culture were 2,3-butanedione (buttery /cheese), (E,Z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber/melon) and (E,Z)-2,6-nonadieen-1-o l (cucumber/sweet). Same alcohols and unknown compounds are thought to cont ribute to the wine-like aroma characteristics of A rugosa suspension cultur e. Through a time course study, A rugosa suspension culture was revealed to have an inverse relationship between cell growth and flavour production. ( C) 2001 Society of Chemical Industry.