Interactions of flavor compounds with pectic substances

Investigation has been conducted using equilibrium dialysis on the sorption of flavor compounds (FC) in solutions of low- and high-esterified pectinates (LEP and HEP, respectively). The compounds include 2-acetyl pyridine, 2,3-diethyl pyrazine, 2-acetyl thiophene and some normal 2-ketones. A method of direct gas chromatographic analysis has been developed for the determination of the FC in aqueous solutions at concentrations as low as 10(-3)% v/v. Additional information was obtained by the analysis of circular dichroism (CD) and apparent molar heat capacity. The results indicate: (1) In LEP solutions, sorption of normal aliphatic 2-ketones with chain length greater than C6 presumably proceeds via van der Waals interactions between alkyl groups of the 2-ketone and hydrophobic regions of the pectinate. The sorption increases with increased alkyl chain length. The Gibbs energy of the methylene group transferring from the solvent to the LEP solution is found to be 1.8 kJ/mol for 2-ketones at C7-C9. (2) In acidic media, binding of heterocyclic FC with pectinates mostly proceeds via hydrogen bonding involving the hydrogen atoms in undissociated carboxyl groups in the pectinate macromolecules. It can also be affected by the self-association of the pectinate macromolecules, depending on pH and pectinate concentration. (3) Under neutral conditions, the presence of Mg2+, Ca2 and Zn2+ ions or the formation of the calcium-pectinate gel network has little effect on the sorption of 2-ketones with the LEP. However, in acidic media, metal ions inhibit the sorption of FC through hydrogen bonding. The sorption of 2-octanone in acidic media depends extremely on Ca++ concentration by the correlationship with changes in the structure of LEP solutions in terms of apparent molar heat capacity.