MULTIDIMENSIONALITY IN SENSOMICS: AROUND A CUP OF TEA

Modern - omics disciplines dealing with food (foodomics, flavour metabolomics, sensomics, flavoromics [1,2]) investigate sample constituents considered collectively (primary and secondary metabolites, compounds generated by thermal treatments and/or enzymatic activity) and open interesting perspectives in the correlation between biological attributes and chemical composition. Sensomics, in particular, focuses on revealing sensory-active compounds extending the investigation to all possible stimuli of the multimodal perception (aroma, taste, texture etc..) by comprehensively treating sample constituents and related properties (physicochemical properties, concentration in-the-matrix) together with their sensory activity (odor quality, odor threshold - OT, Odour Activity Value - OAV) [3]. Two-dimensional comprehensive gas chromatography coupled with Mass Spectrometry (GC×GC-MS), integrated with high concentration capacity (HCC) automated sampling approaches, represent a high-throughput/high-informative platform for food fingerprinting with interesting potentials in sensory characterization [4]. In the present study, a sampling design inspired by the pathways aroma compounds follow to reach the regio olfactoria (i.e. orthonasal and retronasal) has been applied to the characterization of key-active compounds responsible of tea sensory quality. The results obtained have been really straightforward and represent a bridge between igh-throughput screenings with a complete and almost comprehensive profiling of volatiles related to flavour perception. In addition, most of the sensory descriptors of the product can be monitored and subsequently related with corresponding odour perceptions, by tuning the extraction capability of sampling towards a wider range of polarities and volatilities. In such a context, the information potential of each analysis increases and an almost complete sensory profile can be objectively delineated. References [1] M. Herrero, C. Simõ, V. García-Cañas, E. Ibáñez, A. Cifuentes, Mass Spectrom. Rev. 31 (2012) 49. [2] J. Charve, C. Chen, A.D. Hegeman, G.A. Reineccius, Flav. Fragr. J. 26 (2011) 429. [3] J. Kiefl, G. Pollner, P. Schieberle, J. Agric. Food Chem. 61 5226. [4] C. Cordero, C. Cagliero, E. Liberto, L. Nicolotti, P. Rubiolo, B. Sgorbini, and C. Bicchi, J. Chromatogr. A 1318 (2013) 1.