Abstract
Volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) play an important role in the aroma profile of fermented beverages. However, because of their low concentration in samples, their analysis is difficult. The headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS–SPME) technique coupled with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC–MS) is one of the methods successfully used to identify VSCs in wine and beer samples. However, this method encounters more obstacles when spirit beverages are analyzed, as the ethanol content of the matrix decreases the method sensitivity. In this work, different conditions applied during HS–SPME/GC–MS analysis, namely: ethanol concentration, salt addition, time and temperature of extraction, as well as fiber coating, were evaluated in regard to 19 sulfur compounds. The best results were obtained when 50/30 μm Divinylbenzene/Carboxen/Polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CAR/PDMS) was used to preconcentrate the analytes from the sample at 35 °C for 30 min. The dilution of samples to 2.5% v/v ethanol and the addition of 20% w/v NaCl along with 1% EDTA significantly improves the sensitivity of extraction. The optimized method was applied to three fruit brandy samples (plum, pear, and apple) and quantification of VSCs was performed. A total of 10 compounds were identified in brandy samples and their concentration varied greatly depending on the raw material used from production. The highest concentration of identified VSCs was found in apple brandy (82 µg/L).
Highlights
Volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) are known to have a great impact on the aroma of various food and beverages, especially because of their abundance and low detection threshold
The presence of VSCs in distilled beverages has not been studied in such a great manner as it has been for wine and beer
In case of analysis of samples containing alcohol the concentration of ethanol has a great impact on the sensitivity of analysis when sulfur compounds are taken into consideration [21,22,23]. The influence of such parameters as the concentration of ethanol, addition of sodium chloride and EDTA to the sample prior to extraction, time and temperature of the process, as well as 5 different fiber coatings were analyzed with regard to 22 volatile sulfur compounds that can be found in fermented beverages
Summary
Volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) are known to have a great impact on the aroma of various food and beverages, especially because of their abundance and low detection threshold. Their presence plays an important role in the aroma of foods such as vegetables, cheese, coffee, chocolate, UHT milk, as well as wine and beer [1]. The influence of such parameters as the concentration of ethanol, addition of sodium chloride and EDTA to the sample prior to extraction, time and temperature of the process, as well as 5 different fiber coatings were analyzed with regard to 22 volatile sulfur compounds that can be found in fermented beverages. The selected conditions were applied to real fruit brandy samples to identify the present VSCs
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