title: Amino acids profile of sugar cane spirit (cachaça), rum, and whisky.
abstract: An analytical procedure for the separation and quantification of 20 amino acids in cachaças has been developed involving C18 solid phase cleanup, derivatization with o-phthalaldehyde/2-mercaptoethanol, and reverse phase liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. The detection limit was between 0.0050 (Cys) and 0.25 (Ser)mgL(-1), whereas the recovery index varies from 69.5 (Lys) to 100 (Tyr)%. Relative standard deviations vary from 1.39 (Trp) to 13.4 (Glu)% and from 3.08 (Glu) to 13.5 (His) for the repeatability and intermediate precision, respectively. From the quantitative profile of amino acids in 41 cachaças, 5 rums, and 12 whisky samples, the following order of amino acids in significant quantities is observed: Gly=Ser<Cys<Ile<His<Pro=Asp<Asn<Tyr for cachaça; Phe<Glu=Gln=Val=Ala<His=Gly=Thr=Arg=Tyr<Asn=Ser=Lys=Pro<Cys=Asp for rum; and Ala=Asn<Trp<Gln=His=Met=Ile=Cys<Thr<Asp=Leu<Phe=Lys<Ser=Gly=Tyr=Val<Glu=Pro<Arg for whisky samples.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Química de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Trabalhador São Carlense 400, CP 780, CEP 13560-970, São Carlos - SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Francisco W B
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Aquino
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Química de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Trabalhador São Carlense 400, CP 780, CEP 13560-970, São Carlos - SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lisangela M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Boso
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Química de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Trabalhador São Carlense 400, CP 780, CEP 13560-970, São Carlos - SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Daniel R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Química de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Trabalhador São Carlense 400, CP 780, CEP 13560-970, São Carlos - SP, Brazil. Electronic address: douglas@iqsc.usp.br.
authors.forename: Douglas W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Franco
keywords: Amino acids; Cachaça; Derivatization; Distilled spirits; Liquid chromatography