A Comparative Study on Aroma Component Characteristics of Tobacco Leaves from Sichuan and Shandong Based on 51 Flue-cured Tobacco Germplasms

To further explore the aroma component characteristics of Sichuan and Shandong tobacco leaves, eight types of aroma components were determined and their content characteristics were analyzed using the leaf samples of 51 flue-cured tobacco varieties planted in both Sichuan and Shandong. The results showed that, on the whole, the absolute and relative contents of polyphenols and chlorophyll degradation products in Sichuan were higher than those in Shandong tobacco leaves, while the absolute and relative contents of phenylalanine degradation products, higher fatty acids, and polybasic acids were the opposite. From the perspective of different genotypes, the absolute and relative contents of polyphenols and chlorophyll degradation products of more than 92.2% of germplasms planted in Sichuan was higher than that planted in Shandong. The absolute and relative contents of phenylalanine degradation products, higher fatty acids and polyacids of more than 76.5% of germplasms were lower than that planted in Shandong. This result further confirmed the characteristics of the aroma substance content in tobacco leaves of the two production areas as a whole. Among the 51 germplasms, 76.5% of the flue-cured tobacco germplasms in the Sichuan production area were predicted to have a fragrance style tendency, and 90.2% in the Shandong production area were predicted to have an intermediate flavor style tendency. The contents of polyphenols and chlorophyll degradation products were higher than that of Shandong tobacco leaves, which may be the important material basis of Sichuan fragrance style tobacco. The contents of alanine degradation products, higher fatty acids and polybasic acids were higher than that in Sichuan tobacco leaves, which may be the important material basis of Shandong middle-flavor tobacco. Both genotype and ecological conditions have a significant impact on the fragrance index, and ecological conditions have a greater impact than genotypes.