Difference of Polyphenol Contents in Flue-cured Tobacco Varieties and Their Relationship with Sensory Quality

In order to find out the difference of polyphenol contents among flue-cured tobacco varieties, and the relationship between polyphenol contents and sensory quality, six polyphenol compounds were determined in the samples of primary flue-cured tobacco leaves from Nanping. Nine sensory quality indexes including quality of aroma, volume of aroma, volatility, offensive odor, concentration, strength, irritancy, aftertaste and sweet after taste were evaluated. The difference of polyphenol compounds in different varieties were compared, and the correlation between polyphenol compounds and sensory quality was analyzed. The results showed that chlorogenic acid and rutin were the highest polyphenols in tobacco leaves, the sum of them accounted for about 80% of the total phenols, and the content of scopoletin was the lowest. The contents of neochlorogenic acid, 4-o-caffequinic acid, chlorogenic acid, kaempferol glucoside and polyphenols in Cuibiyihao were higher than those in K326 and Yunyan87. The contents of chlorogenic acid, chlorogenic acid and polyphenols in C3F grade tobacco leaves were higher than that in B2F, which may be one of the factors that the sensory quality of C3F was higher than that of B2F. By increasing the contents of chlorogenic acid and neochlorogenic acid in tobacco leaves, we cloud improve the quality of aroma, eliminate the offensive odor, improve the aftertaste, increase the sense of sweet after taste, and improve the sensory quality of tobacco leaves as a whole. Aroma and offensive odor are the two main factors affecting volatility, and the volume of aroma played a leading role in volatility.