Occurrence, Sensory Impact, Formation, and Fate of Damascenone in Grapes, Wines, and Other Foods and Beverages

Abstract

Among plant-derived odorants, damascenone is one of the most ubiquitous, sometimes occurring as an apparent natural product but more commonly occurring in processed foodstuffs and beverages. It has been widely reported as a component of alcoholic beverages, particularly of wines made from the grape Vitis vinifera . Although damascenone has one of the lowest ortho- and retronasal detection thresholds of any odorant, its contribution to the sensory properties of most products remains poorly understood. Damascenone can be formed by acid-catalyzed hydrolyses of plant-derived apocarotenoids, in both aglycon and glycoconjugated forms. These reactions can account for the formation of damascenone in some, but not all, products. In wine, damascenone can also be subject to degradation processes, particularly by reaction with sulfur dioxide.

Identification, introgression, and validation of fruit volatile QTLs from a red-fruited wild tomato species

“…Therefore, our results reinforce the hypothesis that we might consider precursors other than β-carotene, such as neoxanthin, proposed elsewhere (Skouroumounis et al , 1993). Alternatively, the low correlation observed between β-damascenone and all the other apocarotenoids ( r <0.33) suggests a different mechanism of synthesis, as reviewed in Sefton et al (2011) proposing a chemical (non-enzymatic) acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of different plant-derived apocarotenoids as the origin of at least part of the β-damascenone occurring in a number of fruit and foodstuffs.…”

Glycosidically Bound Volatile Aroma Compounds in Grapes and Wine: A Review

“…Further, in many cases, it is possible that the actual aglycone has not been identified due to subsequent reactions/rearrangements that occur following hydrolysis. This has been observed, for example with β-damascenone, where multiple glycoside precursors have been reported (Sefton et al 2011), although none include direct conjugation to β-damascenone. Therefore, as further discussed in the following section, current analytical methods do not allow us to fully predict aglycone composition, and a less targeted approach will be necessary to account for different aglycone structures.…”

Volatile Compounds from Must and Wines from Five White Grape Varieties

“…In contrast with musts, no significant differences between the varieties were found for β-damascenone. β-damascenone concentration decreases during winemaking due to reactions with sulfites and molecular rearrangements, especially in acidic conditions [37].…”