Objective To investigate the composition and differential characteristics of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus (FCB) from six legally authorized origins, and provide a reference for origin identification and quality evaluation of FCB. Methods Headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS) was employed to analyze the volatile components in dried bulbs of Fritillaria cirrhosa, F. unibracteata, F. przewalskii, F. delavayi, F. taipaiensis and F. unibracteata var. Wabuensis. Qualitative matching was performed using the built-in NIST and IMS database of GC-IMS Library Search. Principal component analysis (PCA), orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) were applied to evaluate the differences in volatile components among samples from different origins. Results A total of 90 volatile organic compounds were preliminarily identified, mainly including aldehydes, alcohols, ketones, esters, carboxylic acids, pyrazines, and sulfur-containing compounds. Among them, aldehydes, alcohols, and ketones were the major categories. PCA and OPLS-DA results indicated that FCB samples from the six origins could be well distinguished. Based on variable importance in projection (VIP) values, 17 potential differential markers were screened out, including ethyl acetate, 2-propanone, α-phellandrene, 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, methyl acetate, 2-propanethiol, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, propyl acetate, 3-methylbutanal, 1-butanol, 2-methyl-2-propenal, hexanal, 3-methyl-1-pentanol, 2-methylpropanoic acid, 3-butenenitrile, benzaldehyde, and 2-octanone. Cluster heatmap analysis further demonstrated that the above differential compounds could reflect the volatile metabolic characteristics of FCB from different origins. Conclusion HS-GC-IMS combined with chemometrics can effectively characterize the differences in volatile organic compounds among FCB from different origins, providing technical reference for origin identification, quality evaluation, and characteristic component screening of FCB.

Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus  /  origin identification  /  headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry  /  volatile organic compounds  /  differential markers