Moisturizing and aroma enhancing effects of polysaccharides during pyrolysis

Abstract

The objective of this research was to investigate the moisturizing and aroma enhancing effects of polysaccharides (methylcellulose (MC), locust bean gum (LBG), ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides (GLP), lotus seed polysaccharides (LSP), tea polysaccharides (TP)) during pyrolysis. The addition of MC and LBG significantly improved moisturizing (with water contents >40% and <55% after 48 h of moisture desorption and absorption challenges respectively) and flavor enhancing properties of tobacco shred which could attribute to the hydroxyl groups inside that own well water holding capabilities as analyzed by FTIR and XPS. SEM observation revealed that the pore sizes on the surface of tobacco shreds greatly shrunk with the addition of polysaccharides. Thermal analysis showed that among the pyrolysis substance formed, furfurals (FF) pyrolyzed by MC and LBG enhanced the aroma property most significantly. The current study demonstrated that adding MC and LBG into tobacco can not only prevent water desorption during processing, but also enhancing the pleasant fragrance during tasting.

Keywords

• Polysaccharides
• Pyrolysis
• Moisture retention
• Fragrance enhancement