Analysis Of Components In Tea Extract And Its Application In Cigarette Flavouring

China is the world’s largest tea producing and selling country with a wealth of tea resources.However,tons of low-valued tea are discared every year,resulting in a serious resource loss.Preparation of tobacco flavor could significantly improve the utilization of tea and increase the added value of the products as well,which is in line with the development direction of China’s tobacco industry and revealing important economic value and social significance.In this study,tea flavor was prepared by using plant extraction technology.Firstly,different types of tea were screened by the basic component analysis and the sensory evaluation system.Meanwhile,the GC-MS method together with correlation analysis was used to determine the key synergistic aroma ingredients in tea extracts(TE).Moreover,this study enriched the active ingredients by optimizing the extraction process and further verified the active aroma components to applied in cigarette.The main contents and results are as follows:(1)Xinyang Maojian(XM),black tea and Pu-erh were chosen as representatives of teas with different fementation degrees.The non-volatile/volatile components profiles of the water/ethanol-extraction phase among samples were compared.Sensory evaluation was further carried out in the cigarette system.The results showed that the contents of tea polyphenols(XM > Pu-erh > black tea),caffeine and protein were higher in ethanol extract,while higher amounts of tea polysaccharide(Pu-erh > Black tea > XM),gallic acid and theanine were found in water extracts.and.Meanwhile,the volatile compounds in each fraction were identified by head space-solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(HS-SPME-GCMS).The results showed that the water/ethanol extract of XM had higher proportion of and nitrogen compounds,respectively,and Pu-erh extract possessed higher amount of methoxy benzene.Sensory evaluation results indicated that the ethanol-extraction phase of Pu-erh(dark tea)had highest flavor-enhancing effect.(2)Fuzuan,Tianjian,Bailiang,Pu-erh and Liubao were further selected as five representative dark tea.The profiles of the components in their ethanol extracts were quantified and sensory evaluations were also carried out in cigarette system for a better establishment of internal links and exploring the key synergistic aroma ingredients.Results showed that profiles of the component varied from species and the effects on aroma enchancing in cigarette were also different.Herein,the total contents of tea polyphenols,tea polysaccharides and catechins in Fuzhao,Tianjian and Baiyao tea extract were significantly higher than those of Pu-erh and Liubao,while Pu-erh extract contained higher content of caffeine,Gallic acid and theanine.Analysis of volatile components found that Tianjian,Liubao tea extract showed higher nitrogencontaining compounds,while Fuzhuan and Bailiang extract were high in aldehydes with Puerh extract exhibiting high content of Methoxybenzene.Meanwhile,results from cigarettes sensory evaluation showed that Pu-erh tea extract could better increase the concentration of aroma flavor,smoothing the smoke at the same time,and therefore got the highest score(87 points).Correlation analysis showed that there was a significant positive correlation between the relative content of theanine and the aroma index,epicatechin(EC)and aftertaste index(p <0.05).The correlation coefficient is greater than 0.8 between catechins(C)and irritation,aftertaste and total score index as well as between caffeine and coordination index.The relative content of the new plant diene,trans-linalool,isophorone,isovalerate geranyl ester,palmitic acid methyl ester and palmitic acid was positively correlated with sensory index(p < 0.05).1,2,3-trimethoxybenzene,linalool,acetophenone and indole have a certain correlation with sensory index(r > 0.8).These substances are the key factors affecting the sensory evaluation in cigarette system.(3)The extraction process of Pu-erh was further optimized by using the extracted component,the yield and the aroma enhancing effect in cigarette as evaluation index.The results showed that the optimum extraction process was as follows: the tea was crushed through 40 mesh sieve,the ethanol concentration was 80%,and the ratio of material to liquid was 1: 12 and 2 h extraction time at 85 ℃.The extract obtained could effectively improve the permeability and aroma of tobacco smoke,which further had a positive effect on cigarette flavoring.(4)Thermogravimetric and pyrolytic properties of Pu-erh tea extract were evaluated using TGA-DTG-DSC analysis under simulated combustion environment.Results obtained showed that the total weight loss of Pu-erh tea extract was 66.01%.The volatile compounds after pyrolysis were further identified by Py-GC-MS.Herein,67 kinds of new compounds were newly generated and another 16 kinds has already been detected,mainly(E)-linalool oxide,(Z)-linalool oxide,α-terpineol,(E,E)-farnesol,palmitic acid,etc.According to the evaluation results,the best addition of Pu’er tea extract was 0.15%.(5)Monomer perfuming experiment was then carried out in combination with tea extract obtained to verified the active aroma components.Results obtained indicated that addition of theanine could improve the quality and fragrance of aroma,and caffeine could make the smoke soft and delicate,resulting in a sense of elegance,and gallic acid could significantly reduce the irritation of the smoke and improve the sense of coordination at the same time.Tea polyphenols and catechins,epicatechin,epiphytic catechins can enhance the flushing fragrance in the flue and make the aftertaste clean,but slightly irritating.Results also showed that theanine,caffeine and gallic acid were effective in aroma enchancing,coordination and irritation reduction,respectively,which was consistent with the correlation analysis.C and EC were more related with the aftertaste indicators,but their effect on irritation need to be further verified.