Volatile Profiles of Different Tobacco Cultivars and their Correlation with Sensory Quality of Heated Tobacco

Introduction: Different types of tobacco cultivars have been used as raw material in heated tobacco to maximize the sensory richness. However, the volatile profiles of different tobacco cultivars and their correlation with the sensory quality of heated tobacco remain unknown. Method: In this study, untargeted metabolomics profiling followed by partial least squaresdiscriminant analysis (VIP>1 and p<0.05) was performed to identify 446 and 445 volatile metabolites that were statistically different among three tobacco cultivars in the reconstituted leaf and the aerosol, respectively. Flue-cured tobacco K326 was rated the highest in the sensory evaluation, followed by air-cured tobaccos Badahe and Leye. Result: Correlation analysis revealed that 56 aerosol volatiles including aldehydes, alkenes, ketones, esters and other compounds have strong relevance with the sensory attributes. Conclusion: The identified volatile compounds can be used to assist formula design of heated tobacco and establish sensory-related breeding objectives.