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CORESTA Meeting, Agronomy/Phytopathology, 2019, Victoria Falls, APPOST 10

The influence of sodium carbonate buffer on TSNAs accumulation and leaf quality during tobacco storage

LIU Xingyu(1); LIU Deshui(1); MA Li(1); MA Yanjun(1); YANG Zhendong(1); ZHANG Jie(1); LIN Lin(2); BAI Ruoshi(1); ZHOU Jun(1)
(1) Technology Center, Shanghai Tobacco Group Co., Ltd., Beijing, P.R. China; (2) Beijing Tobacco Quality Supervision and Testing Station, Beijing, P.R. China

Storage of tobacco leaves is an important stage in tobacco processing. Tobacco Specific N-nitrosamines (TSNAs) in tobacco leaves gradually increase during storage. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of sodium carbonate on the accumulation of TSNAs and the quality of tobacco leaves during long-term storage. Sodium carbonate buffer was used to adjust the pH value of Maryland and Burley tobacco leaves during the threshing and redrying process. The treated tobacco leaves were naturally stored for 18 months. The tobacco samples were periodically collected to measure the pH value, the content of TSNAs, the appearance of tobacco leaves, the moisture content, chemical composition and sensory quality. The results showed that the pH value of the treatment group was higher than that of the control group and remained stable with the storage time. The TSNA levels in the treatment group were significantly lower than that in the control group. There was no difference for the appearance of tobacco leaves between the treatment group and the control group. The moisture content of the treatment group was higher than that of the control group. The total alkaloids and total sugar content in the treatment group were slightly lower than that in the control group. The ammonia and total volatile alkali in the treatment group were lower than that in the control group. The sensory quality of the treatment group is better than that of the control group. It can be seen that sodium carbonate buffer can reduce the accumulation of TSNAs during storage of tobacco leaves, and there is no negative effect on the quality of tobacco leaves.