Perfil físico-químico, compostos voláteis, carbamato de etila e compostos fenólicos de cachaças armazenadas em tonéis recém-confeccionados de carvalho e madeiras nativas brasileiras

Abstract

Several reactions occur throughout the production chain of cachaça, from fermentation to bottling. The formation of secondary compounds, organic and inorganic contaminants, occur during these reactions. Among the organic contaminants, ethyl carbamate is a compound that has been the most extensively researched because it is a potentially toxic compound and pathways for its formation are not well elucidated. Aging is the last step of the production process, but its use is not mandatory. At this stage, several chemical reactions between compounds extracted from wood and some compounds present in the beverage occur. The main compounds extracted from wood by the distillates are volatile compounds, phenolic compounds, tannic substances, sugars, glycerol and nonvolatile organic acids. The objectives of this work were to conduct regular monitoring of physical-chemical parameters and the chromatographic profile, including the levels of ethyl carbamate, volatile compounds and the phenolic composition of cachaça in the production process and storage casks. The casks were recently constructed from amburana, oak, balsam, jatobá and peroba wood. The casks were constructed in a specialized cooperage. The samples were produced in a production unit.. Physical and chemical analysis and chromatography was performed. The distilled fractions presented distinct physico-chemical values, and inappropriate values were found.for the alcoholic content, aldehydes and butan-1-ol parameters in the the "head" and "tail" fractions., The values observed for the "heart" fraction, both in the process distillation and aging, were within that established by the legislation. It was possible to observe the results of volatiles analyzed by GC-MS. Several major components responsible for the aroma and flavor of the cachaça, including alcohols, acids, esters and sesquiterpenes, were the main groups found. A progressive increase in heterogeneity and phenolic composition of the wood used for storage was observed. A linear correlation between total phenolic compounds, solids and color intensity was found. No ethyl carbamate was detected in sugar cane juice or in the fermentation step. Carbamate levels ranged from <LQ 17.081 µg L -1 in the distillation step. The ethyl carbamate levels increased during storage and showed differences with respect to the type of wood. When the beverages were stored in glass in the presence or absence of light, no effect of the material or the light on the formation of the carbamate was observed.