Wang Zihao, Xiong Ayuan, Yu Yougui, Zheng Qing
School of Food and Chemical Engineering, Shaoyang University, Shaoyang, 422000, China.
Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of New Technology and Application for Ecological Baijiu Production, Shaoyang University, Shaoyang, 422000, China.
Curr Res Food Sci. 2022 Oct 9;5:1769-1776. doi: 10.1016/j.crfs.2022.10.003. eCollection 2022.
The development of low-alcohol liquor (Baijiu) can represent a tool to solve the problems of excessive alcohol intake. However, low-alcohol liquor has an insufficient ester aroma and a bland taste due to the alcohol dilution process. This study proposes an electrochemical catalysis technology to catalyze the esterification reaction between the acid and alcohol in liquor, thereby enhancing the ester aroma of low-alcohol liquor. In the electrochemical conversion process, the gold electrode with a certain potential promotes the formation of carbocation intermediate from corresponding carboxylic acid, thereby improving the esterification reaction efficiency. The key finding is that the total ester content of liquor treated using this technology is increased by more than 20%, and a strong ester aroma is attained. This study clarifies the electrocatalytic mechanism of the esterification reaction in liquor, and provides a new idea for making low-alcohol liquor become more attractive for aroma and taste aspects trying to obtain an alternative product contributing to the public health.
低度白酒的研发可成为解决酒精摄入过量问题的一种手段。然而，由于酒精稀释过程，低度白酒的酯香不足且口感淡薄。本研究提出一种电化学催化技术，以催化白酒中酸与醇之间的酯化反应，从而增强低度白酒的酯香。在电化学转化过程中，具有一定电位的金电极促进相应羧酸形成碳正离子中间体，从而提高酯化反应效率。关键发现是，采用该技术处理的白酒总酯含量提高了20%以上，并获得了浓郁的酯香。本研究阐明了白酒中酯化反应的电催化机理，并为使低度白酒在香气和口感方面更具吸引力提供了新思路，试图获得一种有助于公众健康的替代产品。
