Changes Of The Main Chemical Components And The Quality Characteristic Of Cigar-wrapper During Curing And Fermentation In Tongxiang Of Zhejiang Province

The cigar-wrapper curing and fermentation tests were carried in Tongxiangdistrict Zhejiang province from2010to2012. The main chemical components andneutral aroma component variation were studied in the curing and the fermentationprocess of the cigar-wrapper, and contrasted the tobacco areas of Tongxiangcigar-wrapper with other domestic and foreign. The results showed that：1. Changes of main chemical components and neutral aroma components in the curingprocess of cigar-wrapper:(1)In the cigar-wrapper’s curing, the leaves’ water content almost declines linearly atfirst14days and the leaves’ water loss slowed down after14days.(2) The content oftotal sugar and reducing sugar in the leaves reduced quickly at first14days of curing,and reduced slowly after14days. The total nitrogen and nicotine showed a singlepeak trend, they increased gradually at first7days and and then decreased.(3) Thechlorophyll degradation neophytadiene’s content unimodal trend in the curing process,the same to the chlorophyll ‘s variation; most of the Aroma had a upward trend suchas farnesyl acetone, beta-damascenone, furfuryl alcohol, phenylacetaldehyde,phenethyl alcohol, benzyl alcohol, benzaldehyde, solanone and so on. Some aroma’scontent increased first and then decreased such as megastigmatrienone4, and somearoma’s content had been reduced, such as megastigmatrienone2,and some aroma’scontent had little change before and after the curing such as dihydroactinidiolide. So,the first14days (wilt–discoloration) was the the most dramatic period of thecigar-wrapper curing. In this process, carbohydrate decomposed largely, and a largenumber of aroma precursors generated. This is the critical period in the cigar-wrappercuring period, and the content of the most aroma was stabilized after21days.2. Changes of the main chemical composition and neutral aroma component in theaccumulation fermentation process of the cigar-wrapper(1) In the accumulation fermentation process, the internal chemical composition of thecigar-wrapper further degraded and transformed. The content of reducing sugar andnicotine changed not large before and after the fermentation, and the content of totalsugar and total nitrogen decreased, especially at first14days of the fermentation period.(2) The main component of the cigar-wrapper aroma substances duringfermentation were determined, and28kinds of aroma substances were measuredqualitatively and quantitatively. In which there were4kinds of phenylalaninetransformation content,6kinds of brown reaction product,1kind of cembratriendidalkyl degradation product,16kinds of carotenoid degradation content and1kind ofchlorophyll degradation content. The results showed that: The vast majority of aromacomponents of the cigar-wrapper had an upward trend in the fermentation process,and a small part of aroma substances showed a downward trend. Meanwhile, with theprolongation of the fermentation time, the content of the most aroma substancecomposition reached a peak about18days, and then gradually decreased. Therefore,when the temperature was40℃and the relative humidity was70%, the content of thearoma substances was most when the time of cigar-wrapper fermentation was about18days, and we could get the tobacco of better aroma and taste.3. The quality analysis of the Tongxiang cigar-wrapper and other producing areas athome and abroad cigar-wrapper(1) Compared to Tongxiang cigar-wrapper and Indonesia cultivars cigar-wrapper, theleaves’ thickness was not differ, but the former was higher than the latter in thetension. Compared with the cigar-wrapper at home and abroad, Tongxiangcigar-wrapper had the thinner blade, higher tensile strength and moderate stem ratio.(2)25kinds of aroma substances were measured qualitative and quantitative inTongxiang cigar-wrapper and other domestic and foreign tobacco growing areas. Inwhich there were4kinds of phenylalanine transformation content,3kinds of brownreaction product,1kind of cembratriendid alkyl degradation product,12kinds ofcarotenoid degradation content,1kind of chlorophyll’s degradation content, and fourkinds of other categories. Compared with foreign varieties, the content of Tongxiangvarieties phenylalanine transformation content had less difference with foreignvarieties, and the content of the browning reaction was slightly higher than the foreignvarieties, and the content of cembratriendid alkyl degradation content was slightlylower than foreign varieties, but the content of carotenoidhormone degradationcontent was different from foreign varieties, and the content of chlorophylldegradation content was higher compared to foreign varieties. Compared withdomestic varieties, in addition to Shifang cigar-wrapper1, the phenylalaninetransformation content of Tongxiang varieties and other varieties had less difference,and the content of the browning reaction content were higher than other domestic varieties, and the content of cembratriendid alkyl degradation product was lower thanthe other domestic varieties. In addition to Shifang Cigar-wrapper2, the content ofTongxiang varieties carotenoid degradation content was lower than other varieties. Inaddition to Hainan A1R, the content of chlorophyll degradation content was higherthan other domestic species. To sum up, in the appearance quality, Tongxiangcigar-wrapper was better than the other domestic varieties, and reached the level offoreign imports cigar-wrapper. In the neutral aroma content, the content of Tongxiangcigar-wrapper brown product was higher than other producing areas at home andabroad, and the content of the phenylalanine content transformation content wasalmost the same to import cigar-wrapper, and the content of cembratriendid alkyldegradation content and carotenoid degradation content(high content ofbeta-damascone) was lower than other producing areas cigar-wrapper.