Volatile organic compounds of tobacco leaves vs. waste (scrap, dust and midrib): extraction and optimization.
BACKGROUND Volatile organic compounds are present at very low concentration, but exhibit important influence on flavor and aroma of tobacco leaves and products. During tobacco processing, at different stages, tobacco wastes are occurred. Since they are delivered directly from tobacco plant, they are expected to have similar aroma profile. RESULTS The volatile composition of 3 types of tobacco waste (scrap, dust and midrib) was characterized for the first time and compared with tobacco leaves volatile composition. Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) with hexane followed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was successfully applied. Different UAE parameters (temperature, time and solvent-solid ratio) showed significant influence on the volatile profiles of obtained extracts. The most important compounds in tobacco leaves, scrap and dust with the highest abundance were nicotine (up to 87.5%), 4,8,13-duvatriene-1,3-diol (up to 16.2%) and neophytadiene (up to 9.4%). In midrib only nicotine was present in all extracts. The most abundant compounds in the extracts were quantified and subjected to optimization, using response surface methodology (RSM). CONCLUSION Regression analysis showed that 83-98% of the variation was explained by the obtained models. The experimentally obtained values agreed with those predicted, thus indicating suitability of the model employed and the success of RSM in optimizing of the extraction conditions. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.