Carotenoid-Related Volatile Compounds of Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) Essential Oils

Abstract

Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) aroma is an important attribute of tobacco quality and is influenced by a variety of minor chemical components, including carotenoid degradation products. The objectives of this work were to determine the content of the most important fragrance-shaping carotenoid degradation products in the essential oils (EOs) of the three types of Bulgarian tobacco—Oriental (OR), flue-cured Virginia (FCV), and Burley (BU)—and to compare them with other aromatic products from tobacco. The content of total carotenoids and β-carotene was highest in BU tobacco (22.23 and 20.34 mg/100 g DW, respectively), followed by OR (13.60 and 12.09 mg/100 g DW in variety “Plovdiv 7” (Pd7); 6.27 and 5.45 mg/100 g DW in “Krumovgrad” (Kr), and FCV (5.93 and 3.73 mg/100 g DW). EOs were obtained by hydrodistillation in an acidified medium, and the main aroma-impact compounds from carotenoid degradation (identified by GC-MS) were as follows: FCV-α-ionone (0.61 mg/100 g DW), dihydro-β-ionone (0.96 mg/100 g DW), β-damascenone (1.26 mg/100 g DW); BU-α-ionone (0.73 mg/100 g DW), dihydro-β-ionone (1.19 mg/100 g DW), β-damascenone (1.35 mg/100 g DW); OR(Kr)-α-ionone (0.20 mg/100 g DW), β-ionone (1.08 mg/100 g DW), dihydro-β-ionone (1.34 mg/100 g DW), β-damascenone (0.36 mg/100 g DW); OR(Pd7)-α-ionone (1.43 mg/100 g DW), dihydro-β-ionone (1.73 mg/100 g DW), β-damascenone (1.23 mg/100 g DW). Ionone and its derivatives were not identified in the aroma extraction products concrete, resinoid, or absolute. The results suggest that temperature, pH of the medium, process duration, and possibly other unknown factors affect carotenoid transformation. The study provides insight into the composition of tobacco EOs and may be of interest to the fragrance industry.

Terpenoids in the Essential Oil and Concentrated Aromatic Products Obtained from Nicotiana glutinosa L. Leaves

“…The results also confirmed our previous observations about the differentiation of the aromatic products obtained from other Nicotiana species, different types and varieties of N. tabacum [32,38,39] and N. alata [40]. As seen in Table 1, only the EO of N. glutinosa contained carotenoid-related fragrance compounds, e.g., α-ionone (1.6%), 3,4-dehydro-β-ionone (2.1%), and trans-β-damascenone (1.6%), which was similar to our previous results on N. tabacum aromatic products [39] and the influence of pH, temperature, and duration of hydrodistillation on carotenoid degradation. The presence of phthalic acid esters in the EO (diisobutyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate), substances with diverse toxicity profiles, was apparently a consequence of their presence in the plant material, as stated previously for other medicinal plants and EOs [41][42][43].…”

“…Our results, however, supported previous findings stating that each of the aromatic products, common to the fragrance industry, i.e., EO, concrete, and resinoid, isolated from a given plant matrix, has a unique composition shaped by the factors involved in the isolation process, namely temperature, duration, selectivity of the solvent, and others [33]. The results also confirmed our previous observations about the differentiation of the aromatic products obtained from other Nicotiana species, different types and varieties of N. tabacum [32,38,39] and N. alata [40]. As seen in Table 1, only the EO of N. glutinosa contained carotenoid-related fragrance compounds, e.g., α-ionone (1.6%), 3,4-dehydro-β-ionone (2.1%), and trans-β-damascenone (1.6%), which was similar to our previous results on N. tabacum aromatic products [39] and the influence of pH, temperature, and duration of hydrodistillation on carotenoid degradation.…”

“…The results about the yield and the chemical composition of natural aromatic products derived from N. glutinosa leaves reveal its cultivation potential as an EO crop for obtaining fragrance materials, but also for obtaining sclareol and concentrated diterpene extracts rich in sclareol. The economics of clary sage (S. sclarea), sclareol, sclareolide, and Ambrox ® production worldwide [39,61] demonstrate a constant increasing trend, but production hardly matches the demand of the fragrance industry. In turn, N. glutinosa was reported to produce over 3200 kg per ha of fresh leaf biomass (at a planting density of 17,600 plants per ha, a standard planting density for flue-cured tobacco) [18].…”

Volatile organic compounds of tobacco leaves versus waste (scrap, dust, and midrib): extraction and optimization

“…Popova et al 36 . explained differences between different types of tobacco in carotenoid‐related volatile compounds as the consequence of processing conditions.…”

RNA Sequencing Reveals Transcriptomic Changes in Tobacco (Nicotiana Tabacum) Following NtCPS2 Knockout

“…Among tobacco types, cis-abienol accumulates at different levels. It is mainly found in oriental and cigar tobacco but not in ue-cured tobacco, Burley tobacco, or Maryland tobacco [1,16,21]. To study the variation in cis-abienol content among different types of cultivated tobacco, 157 varieties of tobacco with or without cis-abienol were selected, and the expression levels of NtCPS2 and NtABS were analyzed [16].…”