Determination of twenty free amino acids in flue-cured tobacco leaves using ultra performance liquid chromatography-single quadruple mass spectrometry and pre-column derivatization

Abstract

Free amino acids in flue-cured tobacco leaves were investigated using the ultra performance liquid chromatography-single quadruple mass spectrometry detection and pre-column derivatization method. The validation results showed that the method could meet the analytical requirements. A total of 138 tobacco leaf samples were collected from 14 provinces in China in 2011 in which the free amino acids were determined. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) of the contents of free amino acids in different growing regions ranged from 28.50%-94.20%, and those of asparagine and glutamine were over 80%. The RSDs of the contents of free amino acids in full aroma tobacco leaves were larger than those in fresh aroma and medium aroma tobacco leaves. The principal component analysis (PCA) and non-parameter Mann-Whitney U test were used for data analysis. The free amino acids of the same aroma type grown in different regions or different aroma types in the same province showed great variation. The contents of free amino acids of full aroma tobacco grown in Southeast region were much lower than those in Huanghuai region. The contents of free amino acids in Hunan province were much lower than the average contents. The results showed that free amino acids in flue-cured tobacco leaves were affected by the growing region.