Identification of key volatile flavor compounds in cigar filler tobacco leaves via GC-IMS

Cigar filler leaves are the most important component of cigar because they determine its quality. Therefore, the volatile components of eight cigar filler tobacco leaves were studied and compared using gas chromatography–ion mobility spectrometry (GC– IMS). In this study, 84 compounds with high levels of nitrogenous and ketone compounds were identified. Based on the chemometric principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), the eight cigar samples were significantly distinguished. Meanwhile, we performed a discriminant analysis of volatile organic compounds in the eight cigar samples based on the variable importance in the projection (VIP) scores of the PLS-DA model, and revealed significant differences in the volatile compounds between the different varieties. 11 volatile compounds (VIP > 1) were screened and compared, among which triamine, acetic acid, acetone, and cyclopentanone were the main differential compounds/flavor substances. This study showed that GC–IMS can rapidly identify and compare the volatile compounds of various cigars, providing a theoretical basis for studying the differences in the volatile aroma of cigars, and laying a foundation for the breeding selection of subsequent varieties.