The volatile compounds of Brazilian sugar cane spirit, the fermented and distilled juice of sugar cane, were extracted by dynamic headspace concentration on Tenax-TA trap and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Approximately 100 volatile compounds with carbon number ranging from 5 to 18 were detected. Among these, 18 esters and 4 compounds from other chemical classes were selected for this work on the basis of their quantity in the extract or their sensory qualities obtained from literature. The major compounds identified were 3-methyl-1-butanol (isoamyl alcohol), 1,1-diethoxy-ethane (acetaldehyde diethyl acetal) and the esters 3-methylbutyl acetate, ethyl hexanoate, ethyl octanoate, ethyl decanoate and ethyl dodecanoate. In minor quantities, potentially important aroma compounds, such as the sulfur-containing 4.5-dehydro-2-methyl-3(2H)-thiophenone, were identified. As far as we are concerned, this is the first time many of these compounds are reported in Brazilian sugar cane spirit. It is concluded that the analytical method was effective for the identification of potentially important aroma compounds of the C5-C18 fraction.
brazilian sugar cane spirit; volatile compounds; aroma; headspace analysis; adsorption; gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
