Rose is one of the most widely cultivated ornamental plants in the world. In particular, its fragrance is known to be very pleasant and attractive to humans. Here, we aimed to understand if particular volatile odorant compounds (VOCs) play a role in such pleasantness or if it is due to the mixture of several compounds. To this end, 20 participants smelled 10 freshly picked modern roses. The perceptual and conscious characteristics associated to the roses were measured through quantitative ratings (on pleasantness, attractiveness, intensity, familiarity, “fruity”, “lemony”, “floral” and “rosy” quality), as well as analysis of motor behavior (speed and distance of approach/withdrawal, duration of sniffing and number of samplings, all reflecting inconscient motivation to approach the odor source). Using perceptual rating, we first revealed that the 10 roses present different levels of pleasantness, wanting, familiarity, intensity, floral and roses perception.
VOCs emitted by the different roses were then captured by headspace and analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Principal Component Analysis and correlation analysis were used to reveal relationships between biochemical, perceptual and behavioral spaces. First results show that there is a positive correlation between the quantity of some VOCs and several perceptual and behavioral parameters, providing new information about the complex relationship between chemical composition and perception of roses in humans. This work was funded by Pack Ambition Recherche from the AURA Region and supported by CNRS, INSERM and University Jean Monnet of Saint-Etienne.