Study on the Correlation Between Physicochemical Indexes and Sensory Quality of Middle Tobacco Leaves in Weifang

Abstract

【Objective】Analyzing the key physical and chemical indexes that affects the sensory quality of middle tobacco leaves (C3F grade) in Weifang, which can provide a certain theoretical basis for further improving the sensory quality of tobacco leaves in Weifang tobacco area.【Method】The key phenotypic, sensory and chemical parameters of the middle tobacco leaves of Linqu and Zhucheng from 2019 to 2021 were determined by physical measurement, chemical detection and sensory evaluation.【Result】The sensory evaluation of tobacco in middle leaves of Weifang was good, compared with Linqu tobacco area, the leaf length, leaf width, leaf weight, leaf thickness and leaf surface density of middle leaves in Zhucheng tobacco area was increased by 5.45%, 7.31%, 25.42%, 15.36% and 12.46%, respectively, while the stem content was decreased by 11.32%. The content of reducing sugar, total sugar, starch, nitrogen and chlorine in Zhucheng tobacco was increased by 9.83%, 6.23%, 26.12%, 7.9% and 291% compared to Linqu tobacco area, but the ratio of potassium to potassium chloride was significantly lower than that in Linqu tobacco area. The canonical correlation analysis of sensory quality and chemical indexes of tobacco leaves respectively obtained 1 and 0 pair canonical variables in Linqu and Zhucheng respectively, the results showed that the indexes of sensory quality which have a great influence on the canonical variables in Linqu were impurity, aftertaste and combustibility, and the chemical indexes were two-sugar ratio, chlorine content, potassium-chlorine ratio and total nitrogen content in leaves. The canonical correlation analysis of sensory evaluation and physical indexes of tobacco leaves respectively obtained 1 and 2 pair canonical variables in Linqu and Zhucheng respectively, the results showed that the indexes of sensory quality which have a great influence on the canonical variables of Linqu were aroma amount, gray amount, aftertaste amount and impurity, and the physical index was leaf length. The sensory quality which had great influence on the canonical variables of Zhucheng were combustibility, fragrance and total score, and the physical indexes was single leaf weight, leaf length and leaf width. Further correlation analysis of the above representative indicators showed that the aftertaste of Linqu tobacco leaves was promoted by nicotine content, while was inhibited by sugar-base ratio, miscellaneous gas was inhibited by chlorine content and aroma quantity was inhibited by leaf thickness and leaf surface density. The aroma of Zhucheng tobacco leaves was promoted by leaf density, and the burning ability was inhibited by the increase of leaf length, leaf width and single leaf weight.【Conclusion】The changes of physicochemical indexes of middle tobacco leaves significantly affected its sensory quality in Weifang tobacco area, in which, the representative physical indexes were leaf length, leaf weight and leaf width, the representative chemical indexes were the ratio of two sugars, chlorine, potassium/chlorine ratio and total nitrogen content, and the representative sensory indexes were impurities, aftertaste, combustibility, aroma and gray. In addition, it is suggesting that further increasing the reducing sugar, potassium content and sugar-alkali ratio of middle tobacco leaves in Weifang, and reducing the chlorine content of middle tobacco leaf in Zhucheng.

Keywords

• weifang
• tobacco
• middle tobacco leaf
• sensory quality
• physicochemical index