Characterisation of volatile compounds associated to sensory changes during the storage of traditional sorghum beer by HS-GC/FID and SPME-GC/MS

The study was carried out to analyse volatile compounds (VOCs) associated to sensory changes during the storage of traditional sorghum beer at ambient temperature and 4 °C. Tchapalo samples were collected and stored at ambient temperature (27–30 °C) for four days and at 4 °C for six days. Volatile and sensory changes were monitored during the storage period. VOCs were extracted and detected using HS-GC/FID and SPME-GC/MS. These methods allowed to identify 68 volatile compounds. The use of SPME fiber permitted to obtain 63 volatile compounds, while simple headspace (HS) was able to extract only 10 compounds. The proportions of isoamyl alcohol, phenylethyl alcohol, ethyl lactate, isoamyl acetate, ethyl hexanoate, ethyl DL-leucate, ethanol, diethyl succinate, phenethyl acetate and benzene acetaldehyde observed significant variation during the storage at ambient temperature. For Tchapalo stored at 4 °C, the proportions of ethanol, ethyl lactate, isoamyl acetate, ethyl hexanoate, ethyl octanoate and phenylethyl alcohol presented significant variation. Principal component analysis based on quantitative changes of these volatile compounds showed three groups among Tchapalo samples which reflected to the differences observed during the sensory evaluations.