Comparison of the Volatile Composition of Wild Fennel Samples (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) from Central Spain

Comparison of the volatile composition of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) has been carried out using direct thermal desorption (DTD) coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Forty-two wild fennel stem samples were collected in two different geographical areas of Central Spain. DTD allowed a high recovery of volatiles from small sample sizes without thermal decomposition. trans-Anethole was the main volatile compound for most cases, although a high variability was found among samples, showing clear phytochemical differences.