Towards the Establishment of Baseline Scientific Information Based on the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) of Philippine Traditional Alcoholic Beverages

Abstract

Investigations on four Philippine traditional alcoholic beverages – namely, lambanog, tapuy, basi, and tuba – were carried out by determining volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in these beverages. Headspace gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (HS-GC-FID) is employed in this study to quantify four compounds – namely, ethanol, ethyl acetate, isoamyl alcohol, and isobutyl alcohol. Mean concentration values for the these VOCs within each beverage type were found to be as follows: 35.69% (v/v) ethanol, 329.67 mg/L ethyl acetate, 145.03 mg/L isoamyl alcohol, and 51.86 mg/L isobutyl alcohol for lambanog; 10.86% (v/v) ethanol, 212.87 mg/L ethyl acetate, 175.82 mg/L isoamyl alcohol, and 37.98 mg/L isobutyl alcohol for tapuy; 11.06% (v/v) ethanol, 114.18 mg/L ethyl acetate, 247.45 mg/L isoamyl alcohol, and 66.54 mg/L isobutyl alcohol for basi; and 8.79% (v/v) ethanol, 351.77 mg/L ethyl acetate, 68.74 mg/L isoamyl alcohol, and 16.23 mg/L isobutyl alcohol for tuba. Results showed that there is wide variability in the VOCs quantified in the four beverages, possibly on account of the sampling site, raw material used, and manufacturing process. Preliminary gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS) studies qualitatively confirm the presence of other families of VOCs. The results from this study are envisioned to serve as new baseline information on Philippine traditional beverages.