The volatile flavor compounds of Saussurea lappa C.B. Clarke, a perennial, aromatic and medicinal herbaceous plant of the Asteraceae family, were isolated by the hydro distillation extraction method using a Clevenger-type apparatus, and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The plant yielded a light yellow colored oil (0.02%, v/w). From S. lappa C.B. Clarke root oil, sixty-three volatile flavor compounds were tentatively identified, among which sesquiterpene was predominant (2 1.70%). The identified compounds of the root oil constituted 87 .47% of the total peak area. From the constituents making up more than 5% of the volatile flavor components, a long-chain aldehyde, (7Z, 10Z, 13Z)-7, 1 0, 13-hexadecatrienal, was the most abundant volatile flavor compound (2 1.20%), followed by dehydrocostuslactone (10 .30%) belonging to sesquiterpene lactone, valerenol (5.30%) and vulgarol B (5.06%).

• Kyung Mi Chang(Plant Resources Research institute, Duksung Women's University, Seoul 132-714, Korea)
• Gun Hee Kim(Department of Food and Nutrition, Duksung Women ’s University, SeouI 132-714, Korea) Corresponding author