Evaluation on the Chemical Composition and Sensory Quality of Heated Cigarettes with Different Types of Tobacco Leaves

To determine the relationship between the main chemical components and the sensory quality, and to explore the utility value of different tobacco types in heated cigarettes, leaves including burley tobacco, yellow sun-cured tobacco, red sun-cured tobacco and flue-cured tobacco were collected from 10 provinces in China. Correlation analysis and stepwise regression were used to analyze the relationship between conventional chemical components, amino acid content, and the sensory quality of heated cigarettes made from them. The results showed that:1) There were significant differences in the conventional chemical components, amino acid content, and sensory quality of heated cigarettes among different types of tobacco leaf. Flue-cured tobacco had the highest content of total sugar, proline, cystine and phenylalanine. Burley tobacco had the highest content of total nitrogen, potassium, chlorine, aspartic acid, threonine, serine, asparagine, α-amino adipic acid, glycine, alanine, leucine, γ-aminobutyric acid, arginine and total amino acid. The score of comprehensive evaluation of yellow sun-cured tobacco was the highest. 2) Total sugar, difference between total sugar and reducing sugar, and cystine were significantly positively correlated with the sensory quality. While total nitrogen, chlorine, aspartic acid, threonine, serine, asparagine, γ-aminobutyric acid and total amino acid were extremely significantly negatively correlated with the sensory quality of heated cigarettes. 3) Among the chemical compositions, proline, aspartic acid, total amino acid and cystine had the highest effects on aroma quality, aroma amount, residual, stability and total score of sensory quality. Among them, cystine had a positive effect. Otherwise, total sugar, total nitrogen and difference of total sugar had the highest effect on the offensive odors, impact, bitterness, irritation and dryness of heated cigarettes. Among them, total sugar, difference between total sugar and reducing sugar had a positive effect. Finally, the regression equations of the conventional chemical composition, amino acid and the sensory quality of heated cigarette were constructed, which could be used to evaluate the tobacco leaves in heated cigarettes of China.