Insight into the aroma profile of Bulgarian tobacco absolute oil

- Aroma profile of Virginia, Burley and Oriental tobacco absolutes was studied.
- Ninety compounds were identified by GC/MS and about thirty − quantified by GC-FID.
- Significant differences were observed as a reflection of the tobacco variety.
- In Virginia and Burley absolutes only cembranoids were found.
- In Oriental absolute both cembranoids and labdanoids are present.

The tobacco absolute usually obtained from tobacco waste, generated at various stages of post-harvest processing of the tobacco leaves and the cigarettes production, can be an important source of natural additives for tobacco compositions and cosmetics. Therefore, the chemical profile of Bulgarian tobacco absolutes derived from the three main type tobacco, grown in Bulgaria (Burley, Virginia and Oriental) was studied by means of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID). A protocol for simultaneous analysis of compounds with high structural diversity and volatility was developed involving a multistep temperature gradient and trimethylsilyl derivatives. As a result 90 compounds, mainly terpenes, but also organic acids, waxes and steroids were identified. The main constituents, representing 94.5-97.5% of the total content of the detected compounds, were quantified by means of GC-FID. Although the most important terpenoid classes, forming the heart of tobacco flavour, were found in all three samples, significant differences were observed as a reflection of the tobacco type. In Virginia and Burley absolutes only cembranoids were detected, while in Oriental compounds representative for both cembranoids and labdanoids were found. This defines a specific chromatographic fingerprint pattern that could be used for a fast identification of the tobacco absolute type.