# Floral Scent Evaluation of Three Cut Flowers Through Sensorial and Gas Chromatography Analysis
## 4 Discussion  
Data on the purchase frequency showed that the majority of the participants buy flowers only occasionally (53%). This result is similar to a previous study performed in Wales (UK), in which participants also declared that they only buy flowers for special occasions (74%) [3]. In another study, Taiwanese consumers showed a purchasing frequency of 1 to 2 (37.9%) and 3 to 14 (39.4%) times per year [22]. It is perhaps surprising that the results are not very different among these three studies,  
Figure 4: Number of VOCs detected by GC-MS analysis in flowers of oriental lily, freesia, and chrysanthemum, clustered by chemical groups. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Major Compound** & **Flower** & **Concentration (\(\mu\)g\(\cdot\)L\({}^{-1}\))** & **ODT \({}^{*}\)** & **OAV** \\ \hline \(\beta\)-pinene & Chrysanthemum & 40.7 & \(\pm\)1.80 & 1500 & 0.03 \\ \(\beta\)-cis-ocimene & Oriental lily & 5552 & \(\pm\)990 & 34 & 163.29 \\ Linalool & Freesia & 11,800 & \(\pm\)220 & 1 & 11,800 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} \({}^{*}\) ODT values were taken from data published by [PERSON] et al. (2001).  
\end{table} 
Table 3: The concentration of major compounds detected in the floral scent of chrysanthemum, lilium, and freesia, showing their odor detection threshold (ODT) and odor activity value (OAV). considering that the per capita consumption of flowers is higher in the UK and Taiwan compared to Chile [23], where our study was carried out. Flower color and scent were the two characters most appreciated by consumers, which is in agreement with previous results [3]. In terms of the most appreciated characters, the results show no differences between Chilean and British evaluators. Furthermore, this finding also confirms that, considering the consumer's opinion, floral scent is an important character to study in flowers. The floral scent of freesia obtained the highest liking score by the evaluators, which could be associated to the highest intensity being perceived in this species. This association is supported by the data from chrysanthemum, which reached the lowest values for both the intensity and liking of the floral scent. Moreover, a previous study also suggested a positive correlation between floral scent liking and intensity [3]. However, the association between scent liking and intensity is not completely clear as both negative and positive correlations between these two characters have been reported using synthetic odors [24], everyday odors [25], and ambient scents [26]. The association between intensity and liking could also depend on the floral species evaluated, as an inverted U-shaped function has been described [27], suggesting, for example, that the high intensity of oriental lily could be associated to a negative effect on its liking appreciation. Cross-modal associations between different sensory modalities have been described [28], particularly for the association between smell and sight, including associations between odors and colors [29] and odors and abstract symbols [30]. Thus, it is very likely that the appreciation of floral scent liking and intensity was modulated by the color and general appearance of the flowers displayed in this experiment. Freesia was particularly well evaluated in terms of floral scent liking (6.91), compared to other scented flowers, such as segregating lines of alstroemeria, which in a previous study were scored closer to 6 (using the same hedonic scale) [3]. Moreover, the same study showed that the highest intensity observed for the scented alstroemerias was only close to 6, indicating a higher value for this character in both freesia and oriental lily. The major volatile compounds detected were \(\beta\)-pinene, linalool, and \(\beta\) cis-ocimene for chrysanthemum, freesia, and oriental lily, respectively (Figure 3). These three VOCs are present in the floral scent of more than 50% of the families of seed plants according to a review previously published [8].