Changes in the Composition of Headspace Volatiles of Flue-cured Tobacco by Aging

In order to investigate the headspace volatiles which indicate the againg effect on tobacco, the headspace volatiles of Japanese flue-cured tobacco were collected by active carbon and analyzed by gas chromatography. The data obtained were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA) and stepwise discriminant analysis (SDA). The results of PCA showed that the volatiles indicated the effect of aging on smoking quality. The SDA selected six peaks of the volatiles which classified the samples into four groups according to the aging period. The results described above can show that the relative proportions of the volatiles, such as furfuryl alcohol, benzyl alcohol and solanone, may be used to judge approximately the agint effects on tobacco.