Universidade Católica Portuguesa, CBQF - Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina, Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Rua Arquiteto Lobão Vital, Apartado 2511, 4202-401 Porto, Portugal; IWBT, DVO University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag XI, Matieland 7602, South Africa; Cork Supply Portugal, S.A., Rua Nova do Fial, 4535 Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal. Electronic address: [Email]
A response surface methodology was applied to study the effect of precursors on o-quinone and phenylacetaldehyde formation in wine model systems stored at 40 °C during 24 h. The results confirmed that glucose plays an important role in reducing aldehyde formation by inhibiting the formation of o-quinone. The regression equations showed that oxygen consumption followed a 2nd polynomial equation whereas phenylacetaldehyde and o-quinone were best fit with a polynomial function containing quadratic terms. These behaviors indicate that different pathways are involved in the respective aldehyde formation and oxygen consumption. RSM has been shown to be a powerful tool to better understand key chemical reactions. By considering a number of factors, individually and in combinations, the derived equations predicted that the best combination to minimize phenylacetaldehyde was achieved for high glucose levels and low amounts of gallic acid and metals. This is valuable information when trying to improve wines sensorial properties during shelf-life.
