Selenium content, chemical composition and volatile components of essential oil and hydrosol from flowers of Cardamine violifolia

Abstract Cardamine violifolia is a unique selenium hyperaccumulating vegetable in China, but its flowers are commonly wasted in large‐scale cultivation. To better utilize this resource, this study explored the selenium content, chemical composition, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of hydro‐distilling essential oil (EO) and hydrosol from C. violifolia flowers. ICP‐MS results indicated that the EO and hydrosol contained selenium reaching 13.66±2.82 mg/kg and 0.0084±0.0013 mg/kg, respectively. GC‐MS analysis revealed that organic acids, hydrocarbons, and amines were the main components of EO. Additionally, benzyl nitrile, benzaldehyde, benzyl isothiocyanate, benzyl alcohol, megastigmatrienone, and 2‐methoxy‐4‐vinylphenol also existed in considerable amounts. The hydrosol extract had fewer components, mainly amines. HS‐SPME‐GC‐MS corresponded to the composition analysis and aromatic compounds were the prevalent VOCs, while HS‐GC‐IMS primarily identified C2‐C10 molecular alcohols, aldehydes, ethers, and sulfur‐containing compounds. This study first described the chemical composition and VOC profiles of EO and hydrosol from selenium hyperaccumulating plant.