Leaf-Surface Chemicals of Orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) Varieties with Different Palatabilities

Abstract

n-Pentane extracts from the surface of leaves from nine orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) varieties with different palatabilities, collected from the third harvest in 1993, was analyzed with a gas chromatograph (GC) and gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Putative diterpene detected in the analysis of volatiles from Lude, Lully, Lutetia, and Prairial was also found to be present on the surface of their leaf fractions. Large amount of two other characteristic chemicals on the surface of leaves was also detected for these four French varieties, showing the highest concentrations in the Lude variety. Possible biological activities of these chemicals on the leaf surface were discussed to relate to the improvement of palatability of orchardgrass.