Characterization of Odorants in Clustered Mountain Mint Pycnanthemum muticum

The clustered mountain mint, Pycnanthemum muticum, is a pleasant-smelling, native North American plant. Despite its wide geographical presence across the United States and Canada, little is known about the specific odorants responsible for its pleasing aroma. Herein, 42 odorants were identified in the plant through solvent-assisted flavor evaporation (SAFE), gas chromatography–olfactometry (GC-O), and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Subsequent analysis involved determining flavor dilution (FD) factors using aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA), quantitating 14 odorants through stable isotope dilution assays (SIDA), and calculating their odor activity values (OAVs). Several noteworthy odorants with OAV ≥ 1 included pulegone (mint, medicinal; OAV 276), 1-octen-3-one (mushroom; OAV 149), menthofuran (mint, petrol; OAV 139), nonanal (citrus; OAV 21), γ-nonalactone (coconut; OAV 13), 1,8-cineole (eucalyptus; OAV 12), mintlactone (mint, coconut; OAV 12), menthone (mint, fresh; OAV 7.3), α-pinene (pine; OAV 4), and piperitenone (mint; OAV 1.9). The study also determined the stereochemistry of various chiral odorants. An aroma simulation model was developed to validate the identification and quantitative results; upon evaluation using olfactory profile analysis, no significant differences were found between the aroma model and an aqueous infusion of P. muticum (P > 0.05). These findings lay the foundation for future investigations into the diversity of P. muticum selections and can provide valuable insights for studies on plant hybridization for food and flavor applications.