1. Plant Source
The family Magnoliaceae is an ancient lineage of plants represented by approximately 223 species of
trees and shrubs in 7 genera, and Magnolia is the largest genus with 128 species [1] distributed in temperate
and tropical regions of the world. Magnolia plant produces a large number of highly odiferous, cup-shaped
flowers mostly used as ornamental plants. In terms of its medicinal use, Magnolia exhibit anti-inflammatory,
antioxidant, anti-angiogenic and anti-tumor effects [2, 3]. Leaves were collected from cultivated flowerproducing
trees in the University of Kentucky arboretum and identified by Dr. Robert Pratley (University of
Kentucky Herbarium. Voucher specimens of M. acuminata L. (UKH-246), M. calophylla L. (UKH-259), M.
grandiflora L. (UKH-854) and M. virginiana L. (UKH-934) are deposited at the University of Kentucky
Herbarium.
2. Previous Studies
Chemical analyses of floral scent of temperate Asia and North American species of Magn