Essential oil of Actinidia macrosperma, a catnip response kiwi endemic to China.

OBJECTIVE: To identify compounds that may be responsible for catnip response of Actinidia macrosperma, and compare chemical compositions in the wild and in vitro regenerated plants. METHODS: GC-MS and relative retention indices with n-alkanes as reference points were used for compound identification, and component relative percentage was calculated based on GC peak areas without using correction factors. RESULTS: There are 28 compounds (92.72%) and 15 compounds (93.88%) identified in the essential oils from the wild and regenerated plants, respectively. Dihydronepetalactone, iridomyrmecin, and dihydroactinidiolide, which are believed to be attractive to felines, are present in both wild and regenerated plants. Actinine was not detected, and beta-pheylethyl alcohol was only present in wild plant. In addition, short-chain enol derivatives, messengers in chemical communication, are commonly present in wild plant of A. macrosperma, but absent in regenerated one. CONCLUSION: Dihydronepetalactone, iridomyrmecin, and dihydroactinidiolide are responsible for the catnip response of A. macrosperma.