Chen Minab,
Mai Biyia,
Lu Jiannengc,
Li Yiminb,
Liu Yijun*ab and
Cheng Long*d
aHainan Key Laboratory of Storage & Processing of Fruits and Vegetables, Agricultural Products Processing Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, No. 48 Renmindadaonan, Zhanjiang, 524001, China. E-mail: liuyijun-1@163.com; Fax: +86 759 2208758; Tel: +86 759 2221090
bKey Laboratory of Tropical Crop Products Processing of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Zhanjiang, 524001, China
cCollege of Tropical Crops Institute, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, 650201, China
dModern Agricultural Development Co., Ltd of Zhanjiang Agribusiness Group, No.35 Renmin Avenue Middle, Zhanjiang, 524258, China. E-mail: 1027165813@qq.com; Tel: +86 759 2620060
First published on 23rd May 2022
The effect of storage time on green coffee volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was studied by their separation via head space solid-phase microextraction and identification via gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry. In total, 38 kinds of VOCs, mainly composed of alcohols, aldehydes, esters and ketones, were identified. The fingerprint showed that the VOCs produced by green coffee in different years had obvious differences, especially, acrolein, 3-methylbutyl acetate, butanoic acid, heptan-3-ol, and so on, that could be used to predict the storage time. In addition, with the increase of storage time, the contents of butanal, ethanol, dimethyl sulfide, propanal, butan-2-one had no obvious change, and could be considered as typical aroma characteristics of green coffee or special aroma components for variety identification. Meanwhile, principal component analysis (PCA) and “nearest neighbor” fingerprint analysis could also effectively distinguish green coffee with different storage times. Comprehensive analysis showed that GC-IMS technology could provide strong and favorable support for coffee storage.
The flavor of coffee is regarded as one of the important indexes to evaluate the quality and acceptability of coffee.4 The aroma of coffee is complex and volatile, composed of aldehydes, ketones, furanone, furan, sulfur-containing compounds, and pyrazine, and so on.5 For example, VOCs in Arabica coffee were dominated by furan and pyrazine derivatives.6 The aroma of coffee is not only related to the variety but also to the pretreatment process (dry or wet process),7–9 roasting method10,11 and other factors. Yu Fei et al.12 showed that three roasting methods, fast, medium and slow roasting, had an impact on the species and contents of VOCs. Juerg et al.13 showed that high temperature and roasting time had a significant effect on VOCs in coffee, with high temperature inducing 2,3-pentanedione, dimethyl trisulfide and other VOCs decreased significantly and 2-furfurylthiol, pyridine, N-methylpyrrole and other VOCs increased significantly. Li Na et al.14 showed that mild, moderate and deep roasting had significant effects on the VOCs of Robusta coffee. The overall aroma of mild roasted coffee beans was thin and the overall aroma of deep roasted was strong and burnt bitter etc. Ralph et al.15 found that ferulic acid decarboxylated, hydrolyzed and oxidized during coffee roasting to produce guaiacol and other phenolic volatile compounds. Chen et al.16 studied the effects of cold extraction and hot extraction on the aroma of Arabica coffee in Yunnan, and identified 111 kinds and 108 kinds of VOCs from the extracted coffee leaves, among which the content of furfuryl acetate in cold extraction was the highest. Sun17 revealed that the aroma intensity of freshly brewed coffee liquid will decrease significantly, and 2-furfuryl mercaptan and some characteristic aroma will fade rapidly during the placing process. According to the premise research, it was found that the aroma of green coffee was getting weaker due to the influence of temperature and humidity during storage, and few studies in this area had been reported.
The schematic diagram of gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) is shown in Fig. 1. It can be seen from Fig. 1 that the sample enters the instrument along with the carrier gas, which is first separated by the gas chromatography column and then enters the ion transfer tube according to the red dotted line. After being ionized in the ionization zone, the molecule to be measured migrates to Faraday disk for detection under the action of electric field and reverse drift gas, thus realizing secondary separation. Compared with the traditional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method, the GC-IMS method requires no pretreatment of the sample and the analysis is performed at a lower temperature, which can truly reflect the original state of the samples. It has been widely used in the fields of storage and processing of agricultural products,18–20 species identification and origin traceability.21 Based on the differences of VOCs fingerprinting by GC-IMS, the differentiation of coffee from different varieties22,23 and different origins24 had been successfully achieved at home and abroad, and it provided a certain reference and theoretical basis for variety identification, origin traceability and quality control of green coffee. In this study, GC-IMS was used to separate and identify the VOCs of green coffee from Arabica in Yunnan in different years, The VOCs were combined with thermogram analysis to reveal the changes of volatile aroma during the storage process of raw coffee, which could provide basic data to guide coffee storage, production and trade.
No | Compound | CAS# | Formula | MW | RIa | Rt [sec]b | Dt [a.u.]c | Identification approach | Classification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
a Represents the retention index calculated using n-ketones C4–C9 as external standard on FS-SE-54-CB-1 column.b Represents the retention time in the capillary GC column.c Represents the drift time in the drift tube.d D represents a dimer, and M represents a monomer. | |||||||||
1 | Dimethyl sulfide | C75183 | C2H6S | 62.1 | 789 | 233.901 | 0.98681 | RI, DT | Thioethers |
2 | Propanal M | C123386 | C3H6O | 58.1 | 823.4 | 256.108 | 1.06252 | RI, DT | Aldehydes |
3 | Propanal D | C123386 | C3H6O | 58.1 | 822.9 | 255.789 | 1.14011 | RI, DT | Aldehydes |
4 | Butanal M | C123728 | C4H8O | 72.1 | 836 | 264.262 | 1.11086 | RI, DT | Aldehydes |
5 | Butanal D | C123728 | C4H8O | 72.1 | 833 | 262.305 | 1.2804 | RI, DT | Aldehydes |
6 | 1 | Unidentified | — | 0 | 835 | 263.6 | 1.19543 | — | — |
7 | 1-Methylethyl acetate | C108214 | C5H10O2 | 102.1 | 842.6 | 268.491 | 1.15266 | RI, DT | Esters |
8 | Methyl acetate M | C79209 | C3H6O2 | 74.1 | 848.2 | 272.09 | 1.0306 | RI, DT | Esters |
9 | Methyl acetate D | C79209 | C3H6O2 | 74.1 | 844.5 | 269.742 | 1.1871 | RI, DT | Esters |
10 | 2 | Unidentified | — | 0 | 856.3 | 277.31 | 1.12705 | — | — |
11 | Acrolein M | C107028 | C3H4O | 56.1 | 858 | 278.426 | 0.98492 | RI, DT | Aldehydes |
12 | Acrolein D | C107028 | C3H4O | 56.1 | 856.5 | 277.469 | 1.06098 | RI, DT | Aldehydes |
13 | 3 | Unidentified | — | 0 | 877.3 | 290.86 | 1.11937 | — | — |
14 | Ethyl acetate M | C141786 | C4H8O2 | 88.1 | 883.4 | 294.845 | 1.0921 | RI, DT | Esters |
15 | Ethyl acetate D | C141786 | C4H8O2 | 88.1 | 883.2 | 294.669 | 1.33346 | RI, DT | Esters |
16 | Butan-2-one M | C78933 | C4H8O | 72.1 | 900.3 | 305.759 | 1.06112 | RI, DT | Ketones |
17 | Butan-2-one D | C78933 | C4H8O | 72.1 | 898.3 | 304.411 | 1.24153 | RI, DT | Ketones |
18 | Isopropanol | C67630 | C3H8O | 60.1 | 908.5 | 311.055 | 1.21861 | RI, DT | Alcohols |
19 | 3-Methylbutanal | C590863 | C5H10O | 86.1 | 911.9 | 313.225 | 1.39859 | RI, DT | Aldehydes |
20 | tert-butanol | C75650 | C4H10O | 74.1 | 915.5 | 315.56 | 1.32225 | RI, DT | Alcohols |
21 | 4 | Unidentified | — | 0 | 919.8 | 318.302 | 1.27969 | — | — |
22 | Ethanol M | C64175 | C2H6O | 46.1 | 925.2 | 321.801 | 1.04364 | RI, DT | Alcohols |
23 | Ethanol D | C64175 | C2H6O | 46.1 | 924 | 321.018 | 1.12992 | RI, DT | Alcohols |
24 | 5 | Unidentified | — | 0 | 948.4 | 336.781 | 1.02026 | — | — |
25 | 6 | Unidentified | — | 0 | 947.2 | 335.978 | 1.18486 | — | — |
26 | 7 | Unidentified | — | 0 | 981.8 | 358.328 | 1.18097 | — | — |
27 | Pentanal M | C110623 | C5H10O | 86.1 | 986.1 | 362.484 | 1.19875 | RI, DT | Aldehydes |
28 | Pentanal D | C110623 | C5H10O | 86.1 | 985.5 | 361.726 | 1.41986 | RI, DT | Aldehydes |
29 | 8 | Unidentified | — | 0 | 1006.5 | 388.647 | 1.04075 | — | — |
30 | 9 | Unidentified | — | 0 | 1006.8 | 388.952 | 1.28979 | — | — |
31 | Ethyl 2-methylpropanoate | C97621 | C6H12O2 | 116.2 | 1012.3 | 395.98 | 1.19587 | RI, DT | Esters |
32 | Butan-2-ol | C78922 | C4H10O | 74.1 | 1013.1 | 397.049 | 1.15042 | RI, DT | Alcohols |
33 | 1-Penten-3-one | C1629589 | C5H8O | 84.1 | 1016.9 | 401.938 | 1.08074 | RI, DT | Ketones |
34 | Propan-1-ol M | C71238 | C3H8O | 60.1 | 1025.7 | 413.243 | 1.10982 | RI,DT | Alcohols |
35 | Propan-1-ol D | C71238 | C3H8O | 60.1 | 1025.2 | 412.48 | 1.25464 | RI, DT | Alcohols |
36 | 10 | Unidentified | — | 0 | 1026.4 | 414.072 | 0.94288 | — | — |
37 | 11 | Unidentified | — | 0 | 1035.5 | 425.771 | 1.03408 | — | — |
38 | 12 | Unidentified | — | 0 | 1035.3 | 425.465 | 1.20011 | — | — |
39 | Butyl acetate | C123864 | C6H12O2 | 116.2 | 1049.2 | 443.247 | 1.23877 | RI, DT | Esters |
40 | Ethyl 2-methylbutyrate | C7452791 | C7H14O2 | 130.2 | 1061.2 | 458.652 | 1.23727 | RI, DT | Esters |
41 | Hexanal M | C66251 | C6H12O | 100.2 | 1071.3 | 472.612 | 1.27316 | RI, DT | Aldehydes |
42 | Hexanal D | C66251 | C6H12O | 100.2 | 1071.8 | 473.568 | 1.56315 | RI, DT | Aldehydes |
43 | 13 | Unidentified | — | 0 | 1073.1 | 476.169 | 1.47648 | — | — |
44 | Isobutanol M | C78831 | C4H10O | 74.1 | 1075.7 | 481.212 | 1.171 | RI, DT | Alcohols |
45 | Isobutanol D | C78831 | C4H10O | 74.1 | 1075.2 | 480.257 | 1.36625 | RI, DT | Alcohols |
46 | 14 | Unidentified | — | 0 | 1081.8 | 493.319 | 1.09304 | — | — |
47 | 15 | Unidentified | — | 0 | 1097.1 | 523.333 | 1.21486 | — | — |
48 | 3-Methylbutyl acetate | C123922 | C7H14O2 | 130.2 | 1099.9 | 528.845 | 1.30152 | RI, DT | Esters |
49 | 4-Methyl-3-penten-2-one | C141797 | C6H10O | 98.1 | 1104.1 | 537.112 | 1.1224 | RI, DT | Ketones |
50 | 16 | Unidentified | — | 0 | 1107.1 | 542.933 | 1.07423 | — | — |
51 | (E)-2-pentenal | C1576870 | C5H8O | 84.1 | 1110.2 | 549.058 | 1.10448 | RI, DT | Aldehydes |
52 | 1-Butanol M | C71363 | C4H10O | 74.1 | 1119.4 | 567.211 | 1.18336 | RI, DT | Alcohols |
53 | 1-Butanol D | C71363 | C4H10O | 74.1 | 1118.9 | 566.256 | 1.3852 | RI, DT | Alcohols |
54 | 1-Penten-3-ol | C616251 | C5H10O | 86.1 | 1133.9 | 595.771 | 0.93615 | RI, DT | Alcohols |
55 | 17 | Unidentified | — | 0 | 1149.1 | 625.623 | 1.08241 | — | — |
56 | 18 | Unidentified | — | 0 | 1147.4 | 622.234 | 1.30772 | — | — |
57 | 2-Heptanone | C110430 | C7H14O | 114.2 | 1150 | 627.461 | 1.25901 | RI, DT | Ketones |
58 | Heptanal | C111717 | C7H14O | 114.2 | 1157.1 | 640.936 | 1.34403 | RI, DT | Aldehydes |
59 | Limonene M | C138863 | C10H16 | 136.2 | 1165.1 | 654.411 | 1.21404 | RI, DT | Alkenes |
60 | Limonene D | C138863 | C10H16 | 136.2 | 1164.3 | 653.186 | 1.29988 | RI, DT | Alkenes |
61 | 19 | Unidentified | — | 0 | 1171.1 | 664.677 | 1.09192 | — | — |
62 | 3-Methyl-1-butanol M | C123513 | C5H12O | 88.1 | 1176.7 | 674.01 | 1.24541 | RI, DT | Alcohols |
63 | 3-Methyl-1-butanol D | C123513 | C5H12O | 88.1 | 1177 | 674.512 | 1.49281 | RI, DT | Alcohols |
64 | 20 | Unidentified | — | 0 | 1185.4 | 688.712 | 1.17888 | — | — |
65 | Pentanol | C71410 | C5H12O | 88.1 | 1212.4 | 734.303 | 1.25276 | RI, DT | Alcohols |
66 | Dihydro-2-methyl-3(2H)-furanone | C3188009 | C5H8O2 | 100.1 | 1240.6 | 781.732 | 1.07297 | RI, DT | Ketones |
67 | 21 | Unidentified | — | 0 | 1243.4 | 787.328 | 1.09304 | — | — |
68 | Hexyl acetate | C142927 | C8H16O2 | 144.2 | 1244.3 | 789.165 | 1.41189 | RI, DT | Esters |
69 | 22 | Unidentified | — | 0 | 1252.5 | 806.576 | 1.07214 | — | — |
70 | 23 | Unidentified | — | 0 | 1268.8 | 841.379 | 1.25748 | — | — |
71 | Heptan-3-ol | C589822 | C7H16O | 116.2 | 1300.6 | 908.979 | 1.32987 | RI, DT | Alcohols |
72 | 24 | Unidentified | — | 0 | 1333 | 977.867 | 1.48121 | — | — |
73 | Acetic acid M | C64197 | C2H4O2 | 60.1 | 1434.5 | 1193.909 | 1.04924 | RI, DT | Acids |
74 | Acetic acid D | C64197 | C2H4O2 | 60.1 | 1427.9 | 1179.901 | 1.16118 | RI, DT | Acids |
75 | 25 | Unidentified | — | 0 | 1595.9 | 1537.169 | 1.11253 | — | — |
76 | Butanoic acid | C107926 | C4H8O2 | 88.1 | 1682.6 | 1721.763 | 1.158 | RI, DT | Acids |
77 | 3-(Methylthio)-1-propanol | C505102 | C4H10OS | 106.2 | 1709.7 | 1779.34 | 1.08316 | RI, DT | Alcohols |
78 | 4-Methoxyacetophenon | C100061 | C9H10O2 | 150.2 | 2127.9 | 2668.902 | 1.22641 | RI, DT | Ketones |
It could be seen from the Fig. 2(A) and (B) that the retention time of VOCs released from green coffee was 100–2000s, and the signal peaks with strong differences were concentrated in 1000–2000s. There were differences in VOCs released by green coffee in different years, and the shorter the year, the more peaks and the greater the peak intensity, and most VOCs gradually disappear during storage. The fresher the green coffee, the higher the amount of these compounds detected, and the most VOCs emitted by green coffee (new green coffee) in 2020.
Table 1 and Fig. 3 showed that 78 kinds of VOCs were detected, including 15 kinds of monomolecular compounds, 25 kinds of unidentified components, and 38 kinds of VOCs were qualitatively detected through built-in NIST database and IMS database. The 38 kinds of VOCs of green coffee were mainly alcohols, aldehydes, esters and ketones, including 12 kinds of alcohols, 8 aldehydes, 8 esters, 6 ketones, 2 acids, 1 alkene and 1 thioether. Due to the differences in varieties, sampling amount and time, there were the differences in the types and numbers compared to the reported by Du Ping et al., but more than 80% of the VOCs were similar.24 Meanwhile, the VOCs in green coffee were changed after roasting, which were also the reason for the difference.6 The results of significance analysis showed that the contents of acids and esters in fresh green coffee (in 2020) changed significantly from 2019 to 2015, alcohols, aldehydes and alkenes changed significantly from 2018 to 2015, and ketones changed significantly from 2016 to 2015.
Fig. 3 The percentage of the content of volatile organic compounds in green coffee in different years. |
As could be seen from Fig. 4, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, 3-methylbutyl acetate, 1-methylethyl acetate, isopropanol, propan-1-ol, butan-2-ol, 1-butanol, isobutanol, tert-butanol, pentanol, heptan-3-ol, 3-(methylthio)-1-propanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, propanal, 3-methylbutanal, butanal, acetic acid, butanoic acid, 1-penten-3-one, 4-methoxyacetophenon and other substances were higher in green coffee with shorter years, and lower with longer years. The 3-methylbutyl acetate, Butanoic acid, heptan-3-ol and other substances in the red solid frame decreased rapidly from 2018. The variation law of acrolein in the green dotted box was just the opposite, and the longer the year, the higher the content. Therefore, it could be inferred that Acrolein could be used as the basis for characterizing the age of green coffee. Acrolein had the risk of being converted into acrylamide which was harmful to human body,25 so it had special significance for guiding the storage and consumption of green coffee. The contents of butanal, ethanol, dimethyls sulfide, propanal and butan-2-one in the blue dotted box did not change obviously with the time of year. Therefore, it could be considered that the compounds in the blue dotted frame were the characteristic compounds that distinguish Arabica coffee from other varieties and producing areas. Under the action of high temperature, the VOCs of roasted coffee were quite different from those of green coffee, especially furans,26 and related reports show that pretreatment process and roasting process conditions also had great differences in coffee aroma,27,28 so it was more meaningful to identify varieties and producing areas based on the aroma characteristics of green coffee.
Fig. 5 PCA plot of VOCs produced from green coffee in different years (A) and The “nearest neighbor” fingerprint plot of VOCs produced from green coffee in different years (B). |
It could be seen from Figure that the green coffee in 2015, 2016 and 2018 could be well distinguished in the distribution map, while the VOCs of green coffee in 2019 and 2020 were similar and could not be well distinguished. When the value of PC_1 was less than −1500, it could be judged as green coffee in 2015. When the value of PC_1 was greater than −1000 and less than 0, and the value of PC_2 was greater than −250 and less than 250, it could be judged as green coffee in 2016. When the value of PC_1 was greater than −1000 and less than 0, and the value of PC_2 was greater than 500, it could be judged as green coffee in 2018. When the value of PC_1 was greater than 1000, it could be judged as green coffee in 2019 or 2020 (fresh green coffee).
The “nearest neighbor” fingerprint analysis based on Euclidean distance algorithm is to compare samples quickly according to the intensity of compounds in the selected evaluation area. The algorithm calculates the Euclidean distance between every two samples. In this way, you can find the “nearest neighbor” by retrieving the minimum distance.33 Firstly, two measured values of the farthest Euclidean distance (minimum similarity) of the two measured values are determined. A box representing the measured value was drawed and placed on the leftmost side. Then, its “nearest neighbor” is placed on the right side, and so on, until all measured values are displayed. The bottom area of the graph represents the normal distribution of each sample (color). The method to interpret the map is not to find the farthest, but to observe the relatively close group measurement results compared with the farther group. The “nearest neighbor” map of green coffee in different years was shown in Fig. 5(B). It could be seen from Fig. 5(B)that there were certain differences in VOCs released by green coffee in different years, among which the green coffee in 2015 were obviously different from other years, the green coffee in 2018 and 2016 were some different but not very big, and the green coffee in 2019 and 2020 were very similar. It could be inferred that the VOCs released from green coffee begun to change significantly after the second year of storage.
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