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Evaluation of volatile organic compounds in alcoholic beverages consumed in Korea

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Abstract

Volatile organic compounds including acetaldehyde, methanol, and higher alcohols such as 1-propanol and 3-methyl-1-butanol in 75 domestic and imported alcoholic beverages consumed in Korea were investigated and evaluated using a gas chromatograph equipped with a mass spectrometer. The acetaldehyde contents in the studied samples ranged from 0.02 to 11.73 mg/L, and were highest in refined rice wines and fruit wines. Only the wine and fruit wine samples contained methanol, at concentrations in the range of 1.42–23.81 mg/L. The 1-propanol content was highest in whisky, while the 3-methyl-1-butanol content ranged from 4.45 to 280 mg/L in all samples other than Korean distilled liquor.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety Grant (11162MFDS006) in 2011.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Science and Engineering, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, 120-750, Republic of Korea

    Hyun Chung, Mi Kyung Yoon, Jihye Han & Young-Suk Kim

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  1. Hyun Chung
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  3. Jihye Han
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Correspondence to Young-Suk Kim.

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Chung, H., Yoon, M.K., Han, J. et al. Evaluation of volatile organic compounds in alcoholic beverages consumed in Korea. J Korean Soc Appl Biol Chem 58, 423–432 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13765-015-0059-1

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