SinS - Abstract

Abstract Information :

Vanilla and vanillin remain the most popular plant derived flavours worldwide, occupying a multi-million dollar industry. Of growing popularity are vanilla extracts which can be made from various types of vanilla beans, and whose flavour depends on factors like; bean variety, origins, processing and growing region [1]. Therefore, industry needs simple and informative analytical methods to measure vanilla extract quality beyond just vanillin. These quantitative analyses need to be achievable by common techniques available in Quality Control (QC) such as Gas Chromatography – Flame Ionisation Detection (GC-FID). Vanilla extracts are comprised of over 200 odorants in a large range of concentrations [1]. These compounds are detailed in the literature and the list is constantly growing as new varieties of vanilla are analysed. However, research ranking compounds in terms of their contribution to vanilla odour is either highly coveted or in its early stages [2]. Very few publications draw causal relationships between compounds and flavour attributes in vanilla. Even using “gold standard” aroma analysis techniques, e.g. Sensomics, descriptive rather than discrimination sensory tests are used for validation. In summary, the similarity or difference of a vanilla extract to its recombinant has not been measured or understood [3]. Here, the key odorants of three vanilla extracts are identified by GC with Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and quantitated by GC-FID and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) using ISO methods [4]. An aroma recombinant containing 14 selected odorants (including vanillin, guaiacol, vanillic acid and p-anisic acid) was validated by a sensory method called ‘Napping’, which placed the recombinant on the map in the vicinity of ‘real’ vanilla extracts. In summary, the key odorants are validated, but further work is needed to fully understand the nuances of vanilla extract aroma. For QC in industry, the quantitation methods developed can be used with conventional equipment, i.e. GC-FID and HPLC following ISO methodology, enabling classification of vanilla extracts in routine QC environments. 1 Havkin-Frenkel, D. and Belanger, F.C. eds., (2018). Handbook of vanilla science and technology. John Wiley & Sons, New Jeresy 2 D. McCormick, PhD Thesis, Massey University, 2018 3. L. L. Jones et al, (2018) Scope for improvement in the sensomics approach, In: Flavour Science, 2018, B. Siegmund, Eric Leitner (Eds), Graz, Verlag der Technischen Universität Graz 4 ISO 5565-2:1999 Vanilla [Vanilla fragrans (Salisbury) Ames] — Part 2: Test methods