Insight into key roasted sweet aroma compounds in mainstream cigarette smoke: GC-MS quantification and odor activity assessment

Abstract

To obtain insight into the key roasted sweet aroma compounds in mainstream cigarette smoke, 14 smoke components previously identified by application of sensory-directed analysis were simultaneously quantified by a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method. The targeted compounds were well separated in 22 minutes and showed good linear correlation (R2 more than 0.99) using the method. Mainstream smoke from 12 flue-cured and 3 blended cigarettes was analyzed with this method. 2-Hydroxy-3-methyl-2-cyclopenten-1-one showed the highest amount in all samples. The odor threshold in ethanol for each compound was determined and the odor activity value (OAV) was calculated as the ratio of its concentration in mainstream smoke to its odor threshold. This allowed an evaluation of the flavor compound's contribution to the smoke matrix. The result showed that, of the 14 compounds analysed, the contributions of 4-hydroxy-2, 5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone, 5-methylfurfural, and 3, 4-dimethyl-1, 2-cyclopentanedione to the roasted sweet aroma of mainstream smoke were the most significant according to OAV.