Influence on the volatilization of ethyl esters: Nonnegligible role of long-chain fatty acids on Baijiu flavor via intermolecular interaction

• Published in: Food chemistry Vol. 436; p. 137731
• Main Authors: Liu, Qing-Ru, Lin, Xian-Li, Lu, Zhen-Ming, Chai, Li-Juan, Wang, Song-Tao, Shi, Jin-Song, Zhang, Su-Yi, Shen, Cai-Hong, Zhang, Xiao-Juan, Xu, Zheng-Hong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 15.03.2024
• Subjects: Ethyl esters; Intermolecular interaction; Long-chain fatty acids; Molecular dynamics simulation; Partition coefficient; Perceptual interaction; Long-chain fatty acids; Perceptual interaction; EtOH; Partition coefficient; SaFB; LCFAs; Intermolecular interaction; OA; VACs; DFT; PRV; SH; MD; BSTFA; StFB; EA; EB; GC-FID; GC–MS; EH; EL; Molecular dynamics simulation; VMD; IGM; Ethyl esters; OTs; NCI; LLME
• ISSN: 0308-8146; 1873-7072
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.137731

[Display omitted] •LCFAs suppressed the volatilization of most volatiles including esters and ethanol.•Oleic acid suppressed volatilization of ethyl acetate/hexanoate and masked aroma.•Evaluating by molecular dynamics simulation and quantum mechanical calculations.•Oleic acid enhanced ethanol/ethyl acetate/ethyl hexanoate related attractive force.•Volatilization of ethyl butyrate was enhanced and its olfactory threshold decreased. Long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs) are commonly presented in Baijiu, but their influence on flavor is ambiguous. The interaction between LCFAs and volatiles was systematically investigated in terms of chemometrics, sensory, and chemical-physical perceptions. The static-headspace-gas-chromatography-mass-spectrometry results demonstrated LCFAs suppressed the volatilizations of most volatiles. According to Phase-ratio-variation analysis, partition coefficients of ethyl acetate (EA) and ethyl hexanoate (EH) decreased 4%–31% and 27%–74%, while those of ethyl butyrate (EB) increased. Calculated by molecular dynamic simulation, the attractive intermolecular forces related to EA/EH increased with oleic acid (OA) addition, while those related to EB decreased. Sensory evaluation confirmed the olfactory threshold of EA and EH increased by 2.4 and 2.7 times respectively, but the threshold of EB decreased from 0.36 to 0.05 mg/L in the presence of OA. Overall, LCFAs altered the intermolecular interaction forces related to esters and ethanol, subsequently affecting the volatile profile and modifying Baijiu flavor's sensory perception.