title: Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry fingerprinting of Brazilian artisan cachaça aged in different wood casks.
abstract: We have investigated the capability of direct infusion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in the negative ion mode, ESI(-)-MS, to differentiate representative samples of artisan cachaça, a Brazilian sugar cane distillate of large production, aged in four different types of wood casks: amburana (Amburana cearensis), jequitibA (Cariniana estrellensis), balm (Myroxylon peruiferum), and oak (Quercus rubra). The ESI(-)-MS were found to be very characteristic, showing sets of diagnostic ions for each of the four types of samples: amburana (m/z 271, 313, 377), jequitibA (m/z 143, 171, 255), balm (m/z 137, 269, 283, 297), and oak (m/z 197, 301, 307). Furthermore, principal component (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), applied to the ESI(-)-MS data, divided these samples into four definite categories. The influence of the aging time on the ESI(-)-MS fingerprints of the cachaça samples stored in oak casks was also established. An inversion in the relative intensity of the diagnostic ions of m/z 307 and 301 is detected in the ESI(-)-MS as the aging time increased from 1 to 2 years. The chemical structures of the major cachaça components were proposed on the basis of the following: (a) the comparison of the ESI(-)-MS/MS of the diagnostic anions with those of the authentic anions or (b) the interpretation of the fragmentation patterns of the previously unknown diagnostic anions. Hence, direct infusion ESI(-)-MS allows not only a rapid, simple, and accurate way to distinguish among cachaça samples stored in different wood casks but also monitoring changes in their chemical composition according to the aging time.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil 31270-901.
authors.forename: Patterson P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: de Souza
authors.forename: Helmuth G L
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Siebald
authors.forename: Daniella V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Augusti
authors.forename: Waldomiro B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Neto
authors.forename: Vanessa M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Amorim
authors.forename: Rodrigo R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Catharino
authors.forename: Marcos N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Eberlin
authors.forename: Rodinei
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Augusti
mesh_terms: D000434:Alcoholic Beverages / Q000032:analysis* / Q000145:classification*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005285:Fermentation; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization; D013997:Time Factors; D014934:Wood