S. DAGNON and D. DIMANOV
Institute of Tobacco and Tobacco Products, BG - 4108 Plovdiv, Bulgaria
DAGNON, S. and D. DIMANOV, 2007. Chemometric evaluation of the colour and smoke aroma in oriental tobaccos based on the polyphenol and valeric acid characteristics as influenced by the genotype. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 13: 459-466
The influence of polyphenols and valeric acids of Oriental tobacco cultivars on the colour of dry tobacco and the aroma of tobacco smoke was studied by applying a chemometric approach. A group of Djebel basma genotypes and a local cultivar Djebel 576 used as a standard were involved in the study. To obtain primary data on the polyphenol pattern related to colour estimation high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used, whereas capillary gas chromatography (CGC) was applied to get information on valeric acid content, related to aroma characteristics. Regression models involving the polyphenol data and the isovaleric acid content were used for colour and aroma estimation, respectively. The HPLC data were processed by means of pattern recognition method (PRM) and the similarity indexes (Is, %) between the selection lines, as well as between them and the standard, were calculated. It was established that all cultivars are distinct from the standard in the polyphenol pattern. The data obtained for the Oriental tobaccos studied point that the colour of dry tobacco and the aroma of tobacco smoke are determined by the genotype-specific composition of the polyphenol complex and of the valeric acids, varying in the different cultivars. The chemometric evaluation of tobacco colour and smoke aroma allows predicting the improved quality characteristics of the selection line L 3 with respect to the standard Djebel 576 and the other genotypes.