Characterization of Odor-active Compounds in Moutai-flavor Daqu Using Aroma Extract Dilution Analysis

Yongsu Li¹, Derang Ni¹, Lizhang Yang¹, Sheng Wang¹, Fan Yang¹ and Li Wang^2,

¹Kweichow Moutai Co., Ltd, Renhuai, Guizhou, China

²Kweichow Moutai Group, Renhuai, Guizhou, China

Cite this paper:
Yongsu Li, Derang Ni, Lizhang Yang, Sheng Wang, Fan Yang and Li Wang. Characterization of Odor-active Compounds in Moutai-flavor Daqu Using Aroma Extract Dilution Analysis. Journal of Food and Nutrition Research. 2022; 10(11):793-800. doi: 10.12691/jfnr-10-11-6

Abstract

Daqu is the starter for baijiu saccharification and fermentation. The unique aroma of Moutai liquor is inseparable from the daqu used. Understanding of the flavor characteristics of Moutai-flavor Daqu and the flavor differences between various fermented-daqu is incomplete. The aroma characteristics of Moutai-flavor Daqu were investigated using sensory analysis and aroma extract dilution analysis. Differences between the aroma components of three different fermented-daqu were compared and analyzed using headspace solid-phase micro-extraction coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Eighty–two odor active regions having a flavor dilution (FD) factor ≥5 were detected, of which 78 compounds (16 aromatics, 12 acids, 9 pyrazines, 8 pyrroles, 6 phenols, 4 furans, 4 pyridines, 4 ketones, 3 pyrones, 3 aldehydes, 3 pyrazoles, 2 sulfides, 2 lactones, 1 alcohol and 1 quinazoline) were specifically identified. The compounds 2-methoxyphenol, 4-ethylguaiacol, 2-methoxy-4-vinyl phenol and 2,3-dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4-one, of which the greatest FD factor was 3125, were identified as possible key contributors to the yellow rice cake-like, candy, smoky and caramel aroma of Moutai-flavor Daqu. The Maillard reaction products 2,3-dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4-one and 2-methyl-3,5-dihydroxy-4H-pyran-4-one were identified in the daqu. Seventy-one aroma compounds were detected in fermented-daqu. The flavor contribution of each was calculated by statistical analysis, and the top 20 compounds were selected for further principal component analysis and content distribution analysis. The results show that there were significant differences between the three different fermented-daqu, which explains the differences in their sensory characteristics.

Keywords:
sensory evaluation Lichrolut-EN SPE aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) Daqu odor-active compounds

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References:

[1]	Xiao, C.; Lu, Z-M.; Zhang, X-J.; Wang, S-T.; Ao, L.; Shen, C-H.; Shi, J-S.; Xu, Z-H. (2017). Bio-heat is a key environmental driver shaping the microbial community of medium-temperature Daqu. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 83: e01550-17.
[2]	Li, R-Y.; Zheng, X-W.; Zhang, X.; Yan, Z.; Wang, X-Y.; Han, B-Z. (2018). Characterization of bacteria and yeasts isolated from traditional fermentation starter (fen-Daqu) through a 1h nmr-based metabolomics approach. Food Microbiology, 76, 11-20.
[3]	Liu, J.; Chen, J.; Fan, Y.; Huang, X.; Han, B. (2018). Biochemical characterization and dominance of different hydrolases in different types of Daqu-a Chinese industrial fermentation starter. Journal of the Science and Food Agriculture, 98, 113-121.
[4]	Gou, M., Wang, H. Z., Yuan, H. W., Zhang, W. X., Tang, Y. Q., and Kida, K. (2015). Characterization of the microbial community in three types of fermentation starters used for Chinese liquor production. J. Inst. Brew. 121, 620-627.
[5]	Xu, Y., Sun, B., Fan, G., Teng, C., Xiong, K., Zhu, Y., & Li, X. (2017). The brewing process and microbial diversity of strong flavour Chinese spirits: A review. Journal of the Institute of Brewing, 123(1), 5-12.
[6]	Zheng, X. W., & Han, B. Z. (2016). Baijiu, Chinese liquor: History, classification and manufacture. Journal of Ethnic Foods, 3(1), 19-25.
[7]	Chen, Z.; Wu, Q.; Wang, L.; Chen, S.; Xu, Y. (2020). Identification and quantification of surfactin, a non-volatile lipopeptide in Moutai liquor. International Journal of Food Properties, 23, 189-198.
[8]	Zhao, T.; Ni, D.; Hu, G.; Wang, L.; Xu, Y. (2019). 6-(2-formyl-5-methyl-1H-pyrrol-1-yl) hexanoic acid as a novel retronasal burnt aroma compound in soy sauce aroma-type Baijiu. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 67, 7916-7925.
[9]	Zhang, C.; Ao, Z.; Chui, W.; Shen, C.; Tao, W.; Zhang, S. (2011). Characterization of volatile compounds from Daqu-a traditional Chinese liquor fermentation starter. International journal of food and Science & technology, 46, 1591-1599.
[10]	Wang, L.; Wang, Y-Y.; Wang, D-Q.; Xu, J.; Yang, F.; Liu, G.; Zhang, D-Y.; Feng, Q.; Xiao, L.; Xue, W-B.; Guo, J.; Li, Y-Z.; Jin, T. (2015). Dynamic changes in the bacterial community in Moutai liquor fermentation process characterized by deep sequencing. Journal of the Institute of Brewing, 121, 603-608.
[11]	Wang, M-Y.; Yang, J-G.; Zhao, Q-S.; Zhang, K-Z.; Su, C. (2018) Research Progress on Flavor Compounds and Microorganisms of Maotai Flavor Baijiu, Journal of Food Science, 84, 1, 6-18.
[12]	Yang, L., Fan, W. L., & Xu, Y. (2020). Metaproteomics insights into traditional fermented foods and beverages. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, 19(5), 2506-2529.
[13]	Liu, H. L., & Sun, B. G. (2018). Effect of fermentation processing on the flavor of Baijiu. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 66(22), 5425-5432.
[14]	Gan, S. H., Yang, F., Sahu, S. K., Luo, R. Y., Liao, S. L., Wang, H. Y., et al. (2019). Deciphering the composition and functional profile of the microbial communities in Chinese Moutai liquor starters. Frontiers in Microbiology, 10, 1540.
[15]	Wang, D.; Jin, B.; Xu, Y.; Zhao, G-A. (2013). Flavor sensory characteristics and the construction of flavor wheel for Chinese rice wine [J]. Food Science, 34, 90-95.
[16]	Campo, E.; Ferreira, V.; Escudero, A.; Marques, J. C.; Cacho, J. (2006). Quantitative gas chromatography-olfactometry and chemical quantitative study of the aroma of four Madeira wines. Analytica Chimica Acta, 563, 180-187.
[17]	Du, X.; Qian, M. (2008). Quantification of 2,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-3(2H)-furanone using solid-phase extraction and directmicrovial insert thermal desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Journal of Chromatography A, 1208, 197-201.
[18]	He, M.; Horng, S-J.; Fan, P.; Run, R-S.; Chen, R-J.; Lai, J-L.; Khan, M. K.; Sentosa, K. O. (2010). Performance evaluation of score level fusion in multimodal biometric systems. Pattern Recognition, 43, 1789-1800.
[19]	Zhang, T.; You, X. (2015). Improvement of the training and normalization method of artificial neural network in the prediction of indoor environment. Procedia Engineering, 121, 1245-1251.
[20]	Calle, M. L.; Urrea, V. (2010). Stability of random forest importance measures. Briefings in Bioinformatics, 12, 86-89.
[21]	Tian, X.; Xin, M.; Luo, J.; Liu, M.; Jiang, Z. (2016). Identification of genes involved in breast cancer metastasis by integrating protein-protein interaction information with expression data. Journal of computational biology, 23, 172-182.
[22]	McCann, R. S.; Messina, J. P.; MacFarlane, D. W.; Bayoh, M. N.; Vulule, J. M.; Gimnig, J. E.; Walker, E. D. (2014). Modeling larval malaria vector habitat locations using landscape features and cumulative precipitation measures. International Journal of Health Geographics, 13, 17.
[23]	Gromski, P. S.; Xu, Y.; Correa, E.; Ellis, D. I.; Turner, M. L.; Goodacre, R. (2014). A comparative investigation of modern feature selection and classification approaches for the analysis of mass spectrometry data. Analytica Chimica Acta, 829, 1-8.
[24]	Del Alamo Sanza, M.; Escudero, JAF.; De Castro Torío, R. (2004). Changes in phenolic compounds and color parameters of red wine aged with oak chips and in oak barrels. Food Science and Technology International, 10, 233-241.
[25]	Fernández de Simón, B.; Hernández, T.; Cadahía, E.; Dueńas, M.; Estrella, I. (2003). Phenolic compounds in a Spanish red wine aged in barrels made of Spanish, French and American oak wood. European Food Research and Technology, 216, 150-156.
[26]	García-Estevez, I.; Escribano-Bailón, M. T.; Rivas-Gonzalo, J. C.; Alcalde-Eon, C. (2017) Effect of the type of oak barrels employed during ageing on the ellagitannin profile of wines. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research, 23, 334-341.
[27]	Kim, M.-O.; Baltes, W. (1996). On the Role of 2,3-Dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl- 4(H)-pyran-4-one in the Maillard Reaction. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 44, 282-289.
[28]	Hess, A. S.; Hess, J. R. (2018). Principal component analysis. Transfusion, 58, 1580-1582.
[29]	Gallant, D.; Gallo, L. C.; Parker, M. L. (2018). X-ray spectral variability of blazars using principal component analysis. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 480, 1999-2010.