Improvement Of Aroma Research Articles

Engineering Saccharomyces cerevisiae to release 3-Mercaptohexan-1-ol during fermentation through overexpression of an S. cerevisiae Gene, STR3, for improvement of wine aroma.

Sulfur-containing aroma compounds are key contributors to the flavor of a diverse range of foods and beverages. The tropical fruit characters of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Sauvignon blanc wines are attributed to the presence of the aromatic thiols 3-mercaptohexan-1-ol (3MH), 3-mercaptohexan-1-ol-acetate, and 4-mercapto-4-methylpentan-2-one (4MMP). These volatile thiols are found in small amounts in grape juice and are formed from nonvolatile cysteinylated precursors during fermentation. In this study, we overexpressed a Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene, STR3, which led to an increase in 3MH release during fermentation of a V. vinifera L. cv. Sauvignon blanc juice. Characterization of the enzymatic properties of Str3p confirmed it to be a pyridoxal-5'-phosphate-dependent cystathionine β-lyase, and we demonstrated that this enzyme was able to cleave the cysteinylated precursors of 3MH and 4MMP to release the free thiols. These data provide direct evidence for a yeast enzyme able to release aromatic thiols in vitro that can be applied in the development of self-cloned yeast to enhance wine flavor.

Preharvest Calcium Sprays Improve Volatile Emission at Commercial Harvest of `Fuji Kiku-8' Apples

Apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) fruit intended for long-term storage are frequently harvested commercially before becoming fully ripe, often resulting in poor aroma development. Since postharvest calcium dips have proved effective for the enhancement of flavor-related volatile esters after cold storage of apples, this study was undertaken in order to assess whether preharvest calcium sprays (7 weekly applications at 1.6%, w/v, 81-123 days after full bloom) could also aid in improving this important attribute at harvest. This procedure significantly increased calcium content in treated fruit. The emission of aroma-related volatile esters by untreated and calcium-treated 'Fuji' apples was then monitored during maturation and ripening over two months prior to commercial harvest. Results indicate that most of the compounds contributing to overall flavor in ripe fruit were enhanced in response to preharvest calcium applications, suggesting that this procedure may be suitable for the improvement of fruit aroma at harvest. The emission of acetate esters was particularly favored, consistent with higher acetaldehyde contents in treated fruit. These effects arose apparently from increased pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activities, possibly leading to a better supply of alcohols and acyl CoAs for ester biosynthesis.

Improvement of Aroma in Transgenic Potato As a Consequence of Impairing Tuber Browning

Sensory analysis studies are critical in the development of quality enhanced crops, and may be an important component in the public acceptance of genetically modified foods. It has recently been established that odor preferences are shared between humans and mice, suggesting that odor exploration behavior in mice may be used to predict the effect of odors in humans. We have previously found that mice fed diets supplemented with engineered nonbrowning potatoes (-PPO) consumed more potato than mice fed diets supplemented with wild-type potatoes (WT). This prompted us to explore a possible role of potato odor in mice preference for nonbrowning potatoes. Taking advantage of two well established neuroscience paradigms, the “open field test” and the “nose-poking preference test”, we performed experiments where mice exploration behavior was monitored in preference assays on the basis of olfaction alone. No obvious preference was observed towards -PPO or WT lines when fresh potato samples were tested. However, when oxidized samples were tested, mice consistently investigated -PPO potatoes more times and for longer periods than WT potatoes. Congruently, humans discriminated WT from -PPO samples with a considerably better performance when oxidized samples were tested than when fresh samples were tested in blind olfactory experiments. Notably, even though participants ranked all samples with an intermediate level of pleasantness, there was a general consensus that the -PPO samples had a more intense odor and also evoked the sense-impression of a familiar vegetable more often than the WT samples. Taken together, these findings suggest that our previous observations might be influenced, at least in part, by differential odors that are accentuated among the lines once oxidative deterioration takes place. Additionally, our results suggest that nonbrowning potatoes, in addition to their extended shelf life, maintain their odor quality for longer periods of time than WT potatoes. To our knowledge this is the first report on the use of an animal model applied to the sensory analysis of a transgenic crop.

Odor Active Compounds Content in Spices and Their Microencapsulated Powders Measured by SPME

Within this study, main odorants of marjoram and thyme (linalool and thymol) were determined in spices and microencapsulated powders using solid-phase microextraction (SPME). Analyses were conducted on selected batches of spices before and after decontamination and on microencapsulated powders prepared for technological purposes (improvement of aroma in decontaminated spices). Conditions of SPME analyses were determined for individual compounds and matrices. Determination of total and surface contents of compounds and the percentage dependencies between encapsulated and surface aroma made it possible to identify the best powders in terms of their quality.

Volatile compounds produced in wine by Colombian wildSaccharomyces cerevisiae strains

Some tropicalSaccharomyces cerevisiae strains, isolated fromChampús, a traditional Colombian low alcoholic fermented beverage, were characterised in order to select yeasts for aroma improvement in wine. H2S production, volatile acidity, β-glucosidase activity, higher alcoholesters and terpenes production were evaluated in this study. These tropical strains were characterised by a considerable production of ethyl hexanoate, 2-phenylethanol, 2-phenylethyl acetate, and geraniol, detected by SPME-GC-MS. Odor activity values were calculated to analyse the effects of yeasts strains on wine aroma, resulting in six distinctive wine groups, as evidenced by discriminant analysis. These results suggest thatSaccharomyces strains isolated fromChampús can be an important source for new tropical yeast biotypes with potential winemaking applications, producing a wide range of aroma compounds.

Aroma enrichment and the change during storage of non-aromatic milled rice coated with extracted natural flavor

Three non-aromatic rice varieties (RD23, SPR1 and SPR90) were coated in a modified spouted bed with 30% sorbitol-plasticized rice-starch film containing 25% pandan ( Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb.) leaf extract produced by the supercritical fluid with carbon dioxide extraction method. The coated and uncoated samples and uncoated aromatic rice (KDML and PTT1 varieties) were packed in plastic bags (nylon15/PE20/LLDPE75) and stored at 25 °C for 6 months. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis revealed that the coating treatment resulted to similar flavor volatile profile as that of aromatic varieties, particularly the presence of 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (ACPY) which is the main volatile compound responsible for the jasmine aroma. ACPY was absent in uncoated non-aromatic rice and ACPY content of non-aromatic rice coated with natural pandan extract was lower than that of uncoated aromatic rice. During storage, ACPY levels decreased. Coated non-aromatic rice retained higher ACPY levels than the aromatic PTT1 variety. The coating treatment also reduced the n-hexanal content of stored grains. Thus, the coating technique is a promising approach for rice aroma improvement and at the same time, for reducing the potential for oxidative rancidity during grain storage.

Enhancement of 2-methylbutanal formation in cheese by using a fluorescently tagged Lacticin 3147 producing Lactococcus lactis strain

The amino acid conversion to volatile compounds by lactic acid bacteria is important for aroma formation in cheese. In this work, we analyzed the effect of the lytic bacteriocin Lacticin 3147 on transamination of isoleucine and further formation of the volatile compound 2-methylbutanal in cheese. The Lacticin 3147 producing strain Lactococcus lactis IFPL3593 was fluorescently tagged (IFPL3593-GFP) by conjugative transfer of the plasmid pMV158GFP from Streptococcus pneumoniae, and used as starter in cheese manufacture. Starter adjuncts were the bacteriocin-sensitive strains L. lactis T1 and L. lactis IFPL730, showing branched chain amino acid aminotransferase and α-keto acid decarboxylase activity, respectively. Adjunct strains were selected to complete the isoleucine conversion pathway and, hence, increase formation of 2-methylbutanal conferring aroma to the cheese. The non-bacteriocin-producing strain L. lactis IFPL359-GFP was included as starter in the control batch. Fluorescent tagging of the starter strains allowed their tracing in cheese during ripening by fluorescence microscopy and confocal scanning laser microscopy. The bacteriocin produced by L. lactis IFPL3593-GFP enhanced lysis of the adjuncts with a concomitant increase in isoleucine transamination and about a two-fold increase of the derived volatile compound 2-methylbutanal. This led to an enhancement of the cheese aroma detected by a sensory panel. The improvement of cheese flavour and aroma may be of significant importance for the dairy industry.

Enhancing volatile phenol concentrations in wine by expressing various phenolic acid decarboxylase genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Phenolic acids, which are generally esterified with tartaric acid, are natural constituents of grape must and wine and can be released as free acids (principally p-coumaric, caffeic, and ferulic acids) by certain cinnamoyl esterase activities during the wine-making process. Some of the microorganisms present in grape can metabolize the free phenolic acids into 4-vinyl and 4-ethyl derivatives. These volatile phenols contribute to the aroma of wine. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae phenyl acrylic acid decarboxylase gene (PAD1) is steadily transcribed, but its encoded product, Pad1p, shows low activity. In contrast, the phenolic acid decarboxylase (PADC) from Bacillus subtilis and the p-coumaric acid decarboxylase (PDC) from Lactobacillus plantarum display substrate-inducible decarboxylating activity in the presence of phenolic acids. In an attempt to develop wine yeasts with optimized decarboxylation activity on phenolic acids, the padc, pdc, and PAD1 genes were cloned under the control of S. cerevisiae's constitutive phosphoglyceratekinase I gene promoter (PGK1(P)()) and terminator (PGK1(T)()) sequences. These gene constructs were integrated into the URA3 locus of a laboratory strain of S. cerevisiae, Sigma1278b. The overexpression of the two bacterial genes, padc and pdc, in S. cerevisiae showed high enzyme activity. However, this was not the case for PAD1. The padc and pdc genes were also integrated into an industrial wine yeast strain, S. cerevisiae VIN13. As an additional control, both alleles of PAD1 were disrupted in the VIN13 strain. In microvinification trials, all of the laboratory and industrial yeast transformants carrying the padc and pdc gene constructs showed an increase in volatile phenol formation as compared to the untransformed host strains (Sigma1278b and VIN13). This study offers prospects for the development of wine yeast starter strains with optimized decarboxylation activity on phenolic acids and the improvement of wine aroma in the future.

Improvement of Coffee Aroma by Removal of Pungent Volatiles Using A‐Type Zeolite

ABSTRACTExperimental studies were conducted using molecular sieve zeolites to remove pungent smell components from a coffee aroma‐containing gas evolved from roasted and ground coffee packed in a percolation vessel. The components such as methyl mercaptan or acetaldehyde were selectively adsorbed from coffee volatiles, and a decrease of pungent odor was recognized on sensory evaluation. The adsorption selectivity was based on pore sizes of adsorbents and molecular sizes of adsorbates. Zeolite 5Å was preferable to 4Å for separation efficiency of methyl mercaptan and recovery yield of residual volatile compounds.

Improvement of aroma of Cox’s Orange pippin apples stored in low oxygen atmospheres

SummaryStoring Cox’s Orange Pippin apples in 1.25% O2 leads to increased firmness and reduced aroma compared with storing in 2% O2. Raising oxygen levels during the storage period from 1.25% to 2% enhanced organoleptic aroma to a level indistinguishable from that of fruit stored in 2% O2, but the benefits of 1.25% O2 in terms of increased firmness ex-store were maintained. Raising the O2 level in storage can be delayed until relatively close to marketing in order to get maximum firmness while still increasing aroma.

Relation of Maturity, Acidity, and Growing Region of `Thompson Seedless' and `French Colombard' Grapes to Wine Aroma and Quality of Brandy Distillate

Fruit from four districts was harvested at three maturity levels during 1972. Thirty-five wines, including replicates, were produced in a uniform manner without sulfur dioxide. A nine-member panel of experts characterized the wine aromas by 7 categories. Brandy distillates of each wine, produced in a small copper-pot still, were scored for general quality by a three-member panel. Statistical significance was determined by analysis of variance and linear correlation procedures. It was concluded that 9French Colombard9 made a wine with more distinctive aroma than 9Thompson Seedless9 and that this aroma has leafy or stemmy overtones. The desirability of acid adjustment for wine aroma improvement depends upon climate and variety. In general, 9Thompson Seedless9 produced significantly better distillates than 9French Colombard9. Quality from 9Thompson Seedless9 was little affected by maturity, while that from 9French Colombard decreased with increasing maturity. Acidity of must <i>per se</i> had no effect on distillate quality. Correlation coefficients indicated that better brandies were produced from wines with fruity but not overripe or oxidized aromas. The better brandies were lower in esters and aldehydes and, inexplicably, higher in total acidities.

Erythorbic Acid and Ascorbic Acid as Antioxidants in Bottled wines

The relatively high sulfur dioxide content of bottled wines is detrimental to aroma and flavor. This can be avoided by intelligent use of erythorbic or ascorbic acid. The addition of ½ to 1.4 pound of erythorbic acid per 1,000 gallons of wine appeared to be the optimum level for the improvement of aroma and flavor in bottled wines when observed during 30 month9s storage. The wines in this study unfortunately had a relatively high sulfur dioxide content, and the addition of erythorbic or ascorbic acid at 1.6 lb/1,000 gal or more aggravated this detrimental effect. In general, a relatively high sulfur dioxide content appears detrimental to the improvement of aroma and flavor of bottled wines, and particularly of white wine. Our observations suggest that a lower initial sulfur dioxide content in these wines would have showed a greater improvement in aroma and flavor at the addition level of ½ to 1.4 lb/1,000 gal of erythorbic acid, when held under the same conditions. Further tests should be made by the industry at large to establish the optimum sulfur dioxide concentration and the optimum addition level of erythorbic acid for wines in general, both in bulk storage and in bottles.