Cumberland rosemary, Conradina verticillata Jennison, is an aromatic, flowering, perennial shrub in the mint family, Lamiaceae. This threatened species is only present in a few counties in Tennessee and Kentucky in the United States. Cumberland rosemary has an odor similar to culinary Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis, but differs in subtle notes such as eucalyptus, pine, and spice. The odor character suggests it could be a possible source for essential oils for culinary or medicinal purposes. However, few studies have been done on the Conradina genus, and the odorants that contribute to Cumberland rosemary’s distinct odor have not yet been identified. Therefore, the aroma of Cumberland rosemary was characterized by combining solvent-assisted flavor evaporation (SAFE) with aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA), and 32 odorants were identified. Odorants with high flavor dilution (FD) factors were quantitated by stable isotope dilution assays (SIDA) and odor activity values (OAV) were calculated for each odorant. Odorants with OAV ≥ 1 included 1-octen-3-one (earthy, mushroom, OAV 2,900,000), 1,8-cineole (eucalyptus, OAV 500,000), borneol (earthy, OAV 10,000), bornyl acetate (earthy, fruity, OAV 3700), eugenol (spicy, OAV 2200), menthone (mint, OAV 130), and camphor (herbaceous, OAV 72). This study determined the odorants may contribute to the unique aromatic profile of Cumberland rosemary and established a basis for future experiments with C. verticillata and the other 6 species of the Conradina genus.

Quantitation of odorants in Cumberland rosemary, Conradina verticillata

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