Identification and Quantification of Sucrose Esters in Various Turkish Tobaccos

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and reversed-phase liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) were used to compare and quantify sucrose esters (SE) in five different tobaccos. The concentration of SE varied from 340 to 950 µg/g. In order to quantify the SE in each tobacco, the trimethylsilane (TMS) derivative of each sample was analyzed via GC-MS. It appeared that in the five tobaccos, the intensities of the five chosen SE-derived molecular masses increased in the order m/z 622 < 636 < 678 < 650 < 664 for samples 1-3, but for samples 4 and 5, the m/z 678 and 650 were reversed. In order to qualitatively characterize the various SE chromatographic fractions LC-MS was used. It was determined that the lowest parent SE m/z in which acetyl was attached to glucose was detected at m/z 566 (10 carbons), and the highest m/z was found at 692 (19 carbons). Some m/z values showed more than one peak which indicated the presence of isomers. All samples showed the presence of at least five different SE peaks wherein acetyl was attached to fructose (i.e. m/z 205). Also, acyl unsaturation was observed in selected fractions.