Flavor compounds, interactions with other food components

Food flavor is a very important parameter influencing perceived quality. The volatile compounds contributing to the aroma of foods possess different chemical characteristics, such as boiling points and solubilities and the sensory properties of food cannot be understood only from the knowledge of aroma composition. This can be explained by interactions between flavor compounds and major constituents in food such as fat, proteins and carbohydrates (1). A number of different interactions has been proposed to explain the association of flavor compound with other food components. This includes reversible Van der Waals interactions and hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic interactions. The understanding of interactions of flavor with food is becoming important for the formulation of new foods or to... 

The importance of direct gas chromatography and combined direct GC/MS to the food industry is demonstrated by the analysis of volatile flavor components and contaminants in experimental samples of rice, food blends, and raw and roasted peanuts. By examining these samples, we are able to investigate flavor systems that are probably associated with lipid oxidation, thermal degradation of protein, or protein interactions with other compounds. 

The quality of flavor in food is attributed to low concentrations of volatile compounds in its head-space. The headspace concentration of volatile flavors in foods is determined by several factors vapor pressure of the flavor compound, its interaction with other components of the food, and temperature. Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are all known to affect the vapor pressure of flavors. In addition to odor, the perceived flavor, i.e., taste, of foods is significantly affected by different rates and extent of flavor release (volatility and temperature) when food is chewed [79]. 

Many interactions are of a pure chemical nature and may result from the presence of aldehydes and their reactivity toward amino and thiol groups of proteins. Another frequently occurring type of interaction is the formation of hydrogen bonds between food compounds and polar flavor components such as alcohols. Starch, starch-derived maltodextrins, and (3-cyclodextrin are able to form inclusion complexes with many flavor components. Many other interactions, although of great influence on flavor perception, are of a physical nature and therefore not mentioned in this chapter. 

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