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Effect of fruit thermal processing on ethyl carbamate content in maesil (Prunus mume) liqueur

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Abstract

The thermal effect of maesil on the content of ethyl carbamate and its precursors during one-year ripening of maesil liqueur was investigated. Fresh maesil (control), fruit blanched for 2 min (blanched), and fruit blanched and dried for 15 h at 50 °C (blanched/dried) were soaked in the liquor containing 25% alcohol at a ratio of 1:2 (w/w) for 100 days at 25 °C and the liquid was further ripened for 260 days. Ethyl carbamate ranged from 13.1 to 204.4 μg/kg with the highest value at 210 day. Thermally treated samples had higher ethyl carbamate concentration than the control, suggesting that thermal treatment increased the formation of ethyl carbamate. A positive correlation between ethyl carbamate content and β-glucosidase activity in all samples indicated that enzymatic hydrolysis of amygdalin by β-glucosidase determined ethyl carbamate concentration during the fermentation of maesil liqueur.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a research grant from Seoul Women’s University (2021-0153).

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  1. Major of Food & Nutrition, Division of Applied Food System, Seoul Women’s University, 621 Hwarang-ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul, 01797, Korea

    Bogyoung Choi & Eunmi Koh

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  1. Bogyoung Choi
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  2. Eunmi Koh
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Correspondence to Eunmi Koh.

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Choi, B., Koh, E. Effect of fruit thermal processing on ethyl carbamate content in maesil (Prunus mume) liqueur. Food Sci Biotechnol 30, 1427–1434 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-021-00961-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-021-00961-5

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