Aliphatic flavour compounds

Fig. 7.1 Some aliphatic esters that are important flavour compounds in fruits and vegetables that mainly contribute with fruity odours...

The root of parsnip Pastinaca sativa) is eaten boiled or baked. The major classes of compounds identified in raw and cooked parsnip are monoterpenoids, aliphatic sulfur compounds, and 3-alkyl-2-methoxypyrazines [35]. To the best of our knowledge, no investigations have been performed to elucidate the character-impact compounds in parsnip by modern GC-O techniques however, it has been suggested that volatile compounds such as terpinolene, myristicin and 3-sec-butyl-2-methoxypyrazine maybe important contributors to the flavour of parsnip owing to either their high concentrations or their low threshold values, or both [35]. 

Fig. 23.1 Microbial routes from natural raw materials to and between natural flavour compounds (solid arrows). Natural raw materials are depicted within the ellipse. Raw material fractions are derived from their natural sources by conventional means, such as extraction and hydrolysis (dotted arrows). De novo indicates flavour compounds which arise from microbial cultures by de novo biosynthesis (e.g. on glucose or other carbon sources) and not by biotransformation of an externally added precursor. It should be noted that there are many more flavour compounds accessible by biocatalysis using free enzymes which are not described in this chapter, especially flavour esters by esterification of natural alcohols (e.g. aliphatic or terpene alcohols) with natural acids by free lipases. For the sake of completeness, the C6 aldehydes are also shown although only the formation of the corresponding alcohols involves microbial cells as catalysts. The list of flavour compounds shown is not intended to be all-embracing but focuses on the examples discussed in this chapter... 

Scheme 233 Formation of aliphatic flavour aldehydes and alcohols, a Biotechnological reaction sequence mimicking plant biosynthesis of C6 compounds (green notes ), b HomologoiK reaction sequence in fimgi leading to mushroom-like C8 compounds. The stoichiometric formation of w-oxo-carboxylic acids during hydroperoxide lyase cleavage is not depicted...

Aroma and odour compounds such as limonene, 3-carene, betamyrcene and terpinolene with 3-carene having the highest estimated concentration, were found only in the recycled HDPE. The levels of these fragrance and taste materials are, however, low compared to the levels of aliphatic hydrocarbons. Fragrance and flavour compounds such as limonene, 3-carene,... 

Fujimaki, M., S. Arai N. Kirigaya Y. Sakurai. Studies of flavour compounds in soybean. Part 1. Aliphatic carbonyl compounds. Agric. Biol Chem. 1965,29, 855-858. 

The flavour components are reported (Fedeli, 1977) to consist of hydrocarbons, aliphatic hydroxy compounds, aldehydes, ketones, ethers, furan derivatives, thiophene derivatives, esters and terpene alcohols. 

Aldehydes and ketones react with ammonia and primary amines to form imines. Reaction with aldehydes yields aldimines, and ketimines arise in reactions with ketones (Figure 8.28). Imines derived from aliphatic carbonyl compounds are generally unstable and are transformed to more stable products, such as amines, diamines and others. Secondary amines react with aldehydes and ketones with the formation of enamines (Figure 8.29). Imines are similarly flavour-active compounds derived from furan-2-carbaldehyde. For example, the aromas of Ar-furfuryl(isobutylidene)amine, N-(furfuryl)isopentyhdeneamine (8-155) and N-(furfurylidene)isobutylamine (8-156) reportedly resemble chocolate. 

A large amount of fuel and environmentally based analysis is focused on the determination of aliphatic and aromatic content. These types of species are often notoriously difficult to deconvolute by mass spectrometric means, and resolution at the isomeric level is almost only possible by using chromatographic methods. Similarly, the areas of organohalogen and flavours/fragrance analysis are dominated by a need to often quantify chiral compounds, which in the same way as aliphatic... 

Contaminants in recycled plastic packaging waste (HDPE, PP) were identified by MAE followed by GC-MS analysis [290]. Fragrance and flavour constituents from first usage were detected. Recycled material also contained aliphatic hydrocarbons, branched alkanes and alkenes, which are also found in virgin resins at similar concentration levels. Moreover, aromatic hydrocarbons, probably derived from additives, were found. Postconsumer PET was also analysed by Soxhlet extraction and GC-MS most of the extracted compounds (30) were thermally degraded products of additives and polymers, whereas only a few derived from the original contents... 

Important aroma compounds of black currant berries have been identified mainly by GC-O techniques by Latrasse et al. [119], Mikkelsen and Poll [115] and Varming et al. [7] and those of black currant nectar and juice by Iversen et al. [113]. The most important volatile compounds for black currant berry and juice aroma include esters such as 2-methylbutyl acetate, methyl butanoate, ethyl butanoate and ethyl hexanoate with fruity and sweet notes, nonanal, /I-damascenone and several monoterpenes (a-pinene, 1,8-cineole, linalool, ter-pinen-4-ol and a-terpineol) as well as aliphatic ketones (e.g. l-octen-3-one) and sulfur compounds such as 4-methoxy-2-methyl-butanethiol (Table 7.3, Figs. 7.3, 7.4, 7.6). 4-Methoxy-2-methylbutanethiol has a characteristic catty note and is very important to blackcurrant flavour [119]. 

The fruit of the cucumber plant Cucumis sativus) is mainly eaten raw or as pickle. Approximately 30 volatile compounds have been detected in the volatile fraction of cucumber, with aliphatic alcohols and carbonyl compounds being most abundant [35]. Fresh cucumber flavour develops as a result of enzymatic degradation of linoleic and linolenic acid rapidly after the tissue is disrupted (Scheme 7.2), by which ( ,Z)-2,6-nonadienal and ( )-2-nonenal mainly are formed [184]. ( ,Z)-2,6-Nonadienal is the main flavour volatile of cucumber fruit, with ( )-2-nonenal as the second most important compound (Table 7.7) [185, 186]. 

The fruit of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) is eaten boiled or baked. About 30 compounds have been identified in the volatile extracts of raw pumpkin, with the major classes of compounds being aliphatic alcohols and carbonyl compounds, furan derivatives and sulfur-containing compounds. Hexanal, ( )-2-hexenal, (Z)-3-hexen-l-ol and 2,3-butanedione have been identified as important for the flavour of freshly cooked pumpkins (Table 7.7) [35] however, studies using GC-O techniques are needed to get a better understanding of the character-impact compounds of pumpkins. 

Essences of pink and white fresh guava obtained by direct extraction of flesh juices with dichloromethane revealed that the total amount of Cs aldehydes, alcohols, and acids comprised 20 and 44% of the essence of fresh white and pink guavas, respectively [49]. The flavour of the Costa Rican guava has been described as sweet with strong fruity, woody-spicy, and floral notes [53]. One hundred and seventy-three volatile compounds were isolated by simultaneous steam distillation-solvent extraction. The terpenes and terpenic derivatives were found in this fruit in major concentrations and were strong contributors to tropical fruit notes (Fig. 8.1). The aliphatic esters contributed much to its typical flavour. 

Volatile compounds isolated from strawberry guava fruit by simultaneous steam distillation-solvent extraction were identified by capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and were characterised sensorially by sniffing GC [52]. Terpenes and terpenic derivatives were identified and were shown to contribute much to the typical strawberry guava flavour. The presence of many aliphatic esters and terpenic compounds is thought to contribute to the unique flavour of the strawberry guava fruit. 

Short-chain aliphatic aldehydes, such as acetaldehyde, 2-methyl-1-propa-nal, 2-methylbutanal and 3-methylbutanal (isovaleraldehyde), impart fruity and roast characters to flavour compositions [49]. Natural acetaldehyde is an important compound naturally occurring in a broad range of fruit flavours, essential oils and distillates it augments fruit flavours and, for instance, it decisively contributes to the freshness and juiciness of foods and beverages, such as citrus juices [23, 50]. 

Esters are widespread in fruits and especially those with a relatively low molecular weight usually impart a characteristic fruity note to many foods, e.g. fermented beverages [49]. From the industrial viewpoint, esterases and lipases play an important role in synthetic chemistry, especially for stereoselective ester formations and kinetic resolutions of racemic alcohols [78]. These enzymes are very often easily available as cheap bulk reagents and usually remain active in organic reaction media. Therefore they are the preferred biocatalysts for the production of natural flavour esters, e.g. from short-chain aliphatic and terpenyl alcohols [7, 8], but also to provide enantiopure novel flavour and fragrance compounds for analytical and sensory evaluation purposes [12]. Enantioselectivity is an impor-... 

The sulfur-containing amino acids also provide special cases. By 1986, MacLeod245 was able to list seven aliphatic and 65 heterocyclic sulfur compounds (the sulfur is not always in the heterocyclic ring) with meat-like flavours. 

As for coriander, in the unripe fruits and the vegetative parts of the plant, aliphatic aldehydes predominate in the steam-volatile oil and are responsible for the peculiar aroma. On ripening, the fruits acquire a more pleasant and sweet odour and the major constituent of the volatile oil is the monoterpene alcohol, linalool. Sotolon (also known as sotolone, caramel furanone, sugar lactone and fenugreek lactone) is a lactone and an extremely powerful aroma compound and is the major aroma and flavour component of fenugreek seeds (Mazza et al., 2002). 

Table 6.6 Range of d H- and S C alues of aliphatic compounds occuring in flavourings. Data include results from IRMS and from GC-C-IRMS measurements. Other 5-values of some...

It is mainly the lower carboxylic acids and some aromatic carboxylic acids that are active as odour- or taste-active compounds. Taste-active substances are predominantly polyhydric carboxylic acids and some aliphatic carboxylic acids such as acetic and lactic acids, which are major carriers of the sour taste in food raw materials and foods. Short chain fatty acids also have some importance as flavour-active substances (C and Cg) and medium chain fatty acids (Cg-Ci2). A number of carboxylic acids can become precursors of important flavour-active derivatives, such as, for example, esters and lactones. 

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