Abstract: The volatile constituents of 4 kinds of aromatic rice marketed in Beijing were extracted by steam distillation and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). According to MS spectrum and retention index comparison, 51 compounds were identified, including 31 hydrocarbons, 6 esters, 5 nitrogen-containing compounds, 5 organic acids, 2 aldehydes, 1 acetal and 1 ether. Nineteen compounds shared by four rice were 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene, ethyl acetate, 3-methyl-2-pentene, methylcyclopentane, ethyl i-butyl ether, 2,3-dimethyl-1-pentene, benzene, 2-methylhexane, 2,3-dimethylpentane, 3-methylhexane, cyclohexene, trichloroethylene, hexanal, N,N-dimethylaniline, benzothiazole, tetradecanoic acid, n-hexadecanoic acid, linoleic acid and oleic acid. However, the characteristic compound of aromatic rice, 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline was not found in the extracts.

Key words: aromatic rice, volatile constituents, steam distillation, analysis