Minor Volatile Compounds in Traditional Homemade Fruit Brandies from Transylvania-Romania, as Determined by GC-MS Analysis

Abstract

In order to investigate the minor volatile compounds of traditional homemade fruit brandies from Romania (Transylvania region), as a result of their assortment and provenience, a number of 26 samples (18 plum brandies samples from 3 different counties, 4 samples of apple brandy and 4 samples of pear brandy) were analyzed using liquid-liquid extraction and gas-chromatography coupled with mass-spectrometry (GC-MS) technique. The GC-MS chromatograms of the hexane extracts led to the identification of 34 compounds (9 terpenes, 14 fatty acids esters, 3 free fatty acids, 4 carboxylic acid esters, 1 hydrocarbon, 1 aldehyde and 1 acetal). The most abundant compounds were the fatty acid esters. Chemometric analysis (Principal Component Analysis-PCA) was applied to discriminate the differences between the volatiles’ fingerprint. Considering the plum brandy samples, significant differences have been observed according to their provenience region. Based on relative abundance of determined compounds important differences among samples from different counties can be seen.. Ethyl hexadecanoate was the main factor for this discrimination. When compared the three types of fruit brandies, significant differences were noticed for their content in ethyl esters of hexanoic, benzoic and hexadecanoic acids. For some plum brandies, according to their fingerprint, possible adulteration with apple brandy can be noted, based on their similar volatiles’ pattern. The pear brandy was strongly delimitated by the other two types of brandies. The PCA data showed a good discrimination according to the region of provenience of the plum brandies in parallel with the composition specificity of the three analyzed fruit brandies.

Gas-chromatography assessments of the major volatile compounds in traditional fruit brandies throughout fruit and wood maturation

“…The volatile components in fruit brandies were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) with a flame-ionization detector (FID) by direct injection into the gas chromatograph column using the method adapted from European Union reference method for volatile compounds [23] considering the recommendations and conclusions of similar studies [16,[24][25].…”

“…The analysis of fruit brandy (spirit) manufactured by traditional methods in European countries was the subject of several papers [4,5,16]. The analysis of these types of beverages has a significant importance in the authentication, control and prevention of fraud [16]. However, the details regarding the manufacturing stages are less described.…”

Authentification of fruit spirits using HS-SPME/GC-FID and OPLS methods

“…There are a number of studies found on the compositions of volatile compounds in fruit spirits, such as plum brandy 1 , 2 , pear brandy 3 , apricot brandy 4 , apple brandy 5 , mirabelle brandy 6 or raspberry brandy 7 . Some of them also dealt with the comparison of aromatic compounds in different kinds of fruit spirits 5 , 8 . Characteristic compounds for FS are esters (typically ethylesters such as ethyl caprylate, ethyl caprate, ethyl laurate, ethyl myristate, ethyl palmitate and others) which are common for many types of FS and form dominant part of aroma profile 7 .…”

Identification of phenolic and alcoholic compounds in wine spirits and their classification by use of multivariate analysis

“…The volatile compounds are responsible for the quality and safety of spirits, depending on their composition, concentration and sensorial properties, essential for customer's acceptance. 4 Phenolic compounds and volatiles that give specific aroma to spirit drinks can be used to classify these drinks by type, origin, country and even provenience region. 4 The widely used method for the phenolic and volatile compounds analysis is chromatography.…”

“…4 Phenolic compounds and volatiles that give specific aroma to spirit drinks can be used to classify these drinks by type, origin, country and even provenience region. 4 The widely used method for the phenolic and volatile compounds analysis is chromatography. 5 Prior to chromatographic analysis which are time-consuming, relatively expensive and require skilled personnel, various extraction methods have been widely used, such as liquid-liquid extraction.…”