Quality Analysis of Heated Cigarette Raw Materials in Different Producing Areas Based on Metabonomics

CHEN Zhen; GUAN Qinglin; LIU Huabing; JIANG Jian; LU Xinbo; DONG Shuya; WU Yunjie; WU Jian

doi:10.15933/j.cnki.1004-3268.2025.09.017

Abstract：To investigate the relationship between the metabolic products of flue-cured tobacco leaves from different producing areas and the sensory quality of heated cigarettes,the heated cigarette roasted tobacco samples from eight producing areas in the United States(T1),Zimbabwe(T2),Brazil(T3),Yunnan Province(T4),Sichuan Province(T5),Guizhou Province(T6),Henan Province(T7)and Hunan Province(T8)in China were used as the research objects.The conventional chemical components of tobacco leaves from each producing area were detected,and the characteristics of metabolites were analyzed by metabolomics.The key differential metabolites were screened by least squares discriminant analysis and KEGG enrichment analysis,and their relationship with sensory quality was analyzed.The results showed that there were significant differences in metabolic characteristics of tobacco leaves from different producing areas.Compared with T4,T5 and T8,T1 tobacco leaves showed downregulation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate and guanine in purine metabolism pathway,and the sensory quality of heated cigarettes was the best.Compared with T4,T5 and T7,5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid in tryptophan metabolism pathway was up-regulated and irritation was the least in T2 tobacco leaves.Compared with T5 and T6,T3 tobacco leaves were up-regulated in arginine and proline metabolism pathways,such as γ-aminobutyric acid.The ratio of two sugars was the highest,the ratio of sugar to alkali was the lowest,and the irritation of heated cigarettes was larger.Compared with T6 and T8,L-aspartic acid was up-regulated in the alanine,aspartate and glutamate metabolism pathway of T4 tobacco leaves,and the sugar-alkali ratio was the highest.The smoke temperature and aroma scores of heated cigarettes were lower than those of T8.Compared with T6 and T8,2´,4´,6´,3,4-pentahydroxychalcone and dihydroquercetin were down-regulated in flavonoid biosynthesis pathway of T5 tobacco leaves,and the ratio of potassium to chlorine was high but the harmony was poor.Compared with T1,T2,T4,T5 and T6,many metabolites in β-alanine metabolism pathway of T7 tobacco leaves were significantly up-regulated.Compared with T2,T3,T4 and T6,lysine biosynthesis pathway in T7 tobacco leaves was also different.The ratio of potassium to chlorine was low,and the irritation and offensive odor of heated cigarettes were more.Correlation analysis showed that 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid and other compounds were significantly correlated with the sensory quality of heated cigarettes.In summary,T1 tobacco leaves are most suitable for heating cigarettes,followed by T8,and T7 has poor quality.