A fast and precise proton nuclear magnetic resonance (qHNMR) method for the quantitative determination of low molecular weight target molecules in reference materials and natural isolates has been validated using ERETIC 2 (Electronic REference To access In vivo Concentrations) based on the PULCON (PULse length based CONcentration determination) methodology and compared to the gravimetric results. Using an Avance III NMR spectrometer (400 MHz) equipped with a broad band observe (BBO) probe, the qHNMR method was validated by determining its linearity, range, precision, and accuracy as well as robustness and limit of quantitation. The linearity of the method was assessed by measuring samples of l-tyrosine, caffeine, or benzoic acid in a concentration range between 0.3 and 16.5 mmol/L (r(2) ≥ 0.99), whereas the interday and intraday precisions were found to be ≤2%. The recovery of a range of reference compounds was ≥98.5%, thus demonstrating the qHNMR method as a precise tool for the rapid quantitation (~15 min) of food-related target compounds in reference materials and natural isolates such as nucleotides, polyphenols, or cyclic peptides.

Key food odorants are the most relevant determinants by which we detect, recognize, and hedonically evaluate the aroma of foods and beverages. Odorants are detected by our chemical sense of olfaction, comprising a set of approximately 400 different odorant receptor types. However, the specific receptor activity patterns representing the aroma percepts of foods or beverages, as well as the key food odorant agonist profiles of single-odorant receptors, are largely unknown. We aimed to establish comprehensive key food odorant agonist profiles of 2 unrelated, broadly tuned receptors, OR1A1 and OR2W1, that had been associated thus far with mostly non-key food odorants and shared some of these agonists. By screening both receptors against 190 key food odorants in a cell-based luminescence assay, we identified 14 and 18 new key food odorant agonists for OR1A1 and OR2W1, respectively, with 3-methyl-2,4-nonanedione emerging as the most potent agonist for OR1A1 by 3 orders of magnitude, with a submicromolar half maximal effective concentration. 3-Methyl-2,4-nonanedione has been associated with a prune note in oxidized wine and is an aroma determinant in tea and apricots. Further screening against the entire set of 391 human odorant receptors revealed that 30 or 300 μmol/L 3-methyl-2,4-nonanedione activated only 1 receptor, OR1A1, suggesting a unique role of OR1A1 for the most sensitive detection of this key food odorant in wine, tea, and other food matrices.

The potent odorant dimethyl sulfide (1), showing a low odor threshold of 0.12 microg/L in water, is known to contribute to the aromas of various foods. Its cabbage-like odor plays an important role, particularly, in cooked vegetables, such as cabbage, celery, or asparagus. On the other hand, in fruit juices or beer, 1 may generate off-flavors. S-Methylmethionine (2) has previously been characterized as precursor of 1 during thermal processing, and several methods for its quantitation have been proposed. Using deuterium-labeled 2 as the internal standard, a stable isotope dilution assay (SIDA) using LC-MS/MS was developed for the fast quantitation of 2 in vegetables and malt. Application of the method to different foods revealed amounts between 2.8 mg (fresh tomatoes) and 176 mg (celery) of 2 per kilogram. To correlate the amount of 1 formed upon processing with the amounts of 2 present in the raw material, 1 was quantified before and after a thermal treatment of the same raw materials by a SIDA. Concentrations between 1.1 mg/kg (fresh tomatoes) and 26 mg/kg (celery) were determined in the processed samples. The quantitation of 2 during steeping, germination, and malting of barley, and a correlation of the data with the amounts of 1 formed after thermal treatment of the malt, resulted in yields between 24 and 27 mol % calculated on the basis of the amounts of 2. The results suggested that the extent of the formation of 1 can be predicted, for example, in plant materials, from the amount of 2 present in the raw foods.

An aroma distillate was prepared by solvent extraction and subsequent SAFE distillation from Italian vine-ripe tomatoes eliciting an intense overall aroma. Application of gc/olfactometry and the aroma extract dilution analysis revealed 44 odor-active compounds, 42 of which could be identified. The highest odor activity value of 2048 was established for the green, grassy (Z)-3-hexenal, the metallic smelling trans-4,5-epoxy-(E)-2-decenal, the potato-like 3-(methylthio)propanal, and the caramel-like 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone. Of the further odorants, 13 compounds have previously not been reported as tomato odorants. Although most of these showed lower FD-factors, in particular, the coconut/dill-like smelling wine lactone ((3S,3aS,7aR)-3a,4,5,7a-tetrahydro-3,6-dimethylbenzofuran-2(3H)-one) appeared with a quite high FD factor. In addition, a fruity, almond-like odorant (6) with an FD factor of 1024 was detected. By application of high resolution mass spectrometry and polarity considerations, the structure of a methyl-2-ethoxytetrahydropyran isomer was suggested for 6. Four of the five possible isomers, the 3-methyl-, 4-methyl-, 5-methyl-, and 6-methyl-2-ethoxytetrahydropyran were synthesized and showed similar mass spectrometric patterns. However, these were excluded by their different retention indices. Although the synthesis of the remaining 2-methyl-2-ethoxytetrahydropyran resulted in only small yields, which were not sufficient for NMR measurements, this structure is very likely for 6. This compound was never reported as a food constituent before. Finally, quantitation of 23 odorants by stable isotope dilution assays allowed for the preparation of an aroma recombinate resembling the overall aroma of the tomatoes.

The whole sensometabolome of a typical dairy milk dessert was decoded to potentially serve as a blueprint for further flavor optimization steps of functional fat-reduced food. By applying the sensomics approach, a wide range of different dairy volatiles, semi and nonvolatiles, were analyzed by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry with or without derivatization presteps. While for volatile sulfur compounds with low odor thresholds, headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography was established, abundant carbohydrates and organic acids were quantified by quantitative 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Validated quantitation, sensory reconstitution, and omission studies highlighted eight flavor-active compounds, namely, diacetyl, δ-tetra-, δ-hexa-, and δ-octadecalactone, sucrose, galactose, lactic acid, and citric acid as indispensable for flavor recombination. Furthermore, eight odorants (acetaldehyde, acetic acid, butyric acid, methanethiol, phenylacetic acid, dimethyl sulfide, acetoin, and hexanoic acid), all with odor activity values >1, additionally contributed to the overall flavor blueprint. Within this work, a dairy flavor analytical toolbox covering four different high-throughput methods could successfully be established showing potential for industrial applications.