Characteristic Volatile Composition of Seven Seaweeds from the Yellow Sea of China

Plant volatile organic compounds (VOCs) represent a relatively wide class of secondary metabolites. The VOC profiles of seven seaweeds (Grateloupia filicina,Polysiphonia senticulosa,Callithamnion corymbosum,Sargassum thunbergii,Dictyota dichotoma,Enteromorpha proliferaandUlva lactuca) from the Yellow Sea of China were investigated using multifiber headspace solid phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC–MS), among them, the VOCs of three red algae Grateloupia filicina, Polysiphonia senticulosa, and Callithamnion corymbosum were first reported. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to disclose characteristic categories and molecules of VOCs and network pharmacology was performed to predict potential biomedical utilization of candidate seaweeds. Aldehyde was found to be the most abundant VOC category in the present study and (E)-β-ionone was the only compound found to exist in all seven seaweeds. The chemical diversity of aldehydes inE. proliferasuggest its potential application in chemotaxonomy and hinted that divinylbenzene/carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CAR/PDMS) fiber is more suitable for aldehyde extraction. VOCs inD. dichotomawere characterized as sesquiterpenes and diterpenes and the most relevant pharmacological pathway was the neuroactive ligand–receptor interaction pathway, which suggests thatD. dichotomamay have certain preventive and therapeutic values in cancer, especially in lung cancer, in addition to neuropsychiatric diseases.Keywords:volatile organic compounds;seaweeds;characteristic VOCs;chemotaxonomy;biomedical utilization;headspace solid phase microextraction