Physico-Chemical Quality Discrimination and Volatile Flavor Profiling of Regional Non-Centrifugal Sugar Made From Sugarcane, Palm, and Coconut

Background/Aims: Non-centrifugal sugar (NCS) is a dehydratedsolidified form of sugar syrup or sap, and widely used as table sugar, snack, and raw material for the production of various foods. To assess food quality and flavor profile differences of regional NCS products, seven sugarcane-, three palm-, and two coconutmade NCS across Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia were assessed in term of their physico-chemical and volatile flavor properties. Methods: The physico-chemical quality of each NCS included color index, total phenolic, total flavonoid, and antioxidant activity, analyzed by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assays. The composition of volatiles in NCS was evaluated through static headspace-gas chromatography-flame ionization detection/mass spectrophotometry. Results: The NCS from sugarcane presented darker color index than products from palm and coconut, suggesting sugarcane-made NCS might retain considerable amount of molasses that was derived from non-centrifugation process. The lack of molasses removal in sugarcane-made NCS also contributed to their superior phenolic and flavonoid contents, as well as antioxidant potentials, particularly in Japanese and Thai NCSs, as indicated by higher DPPH radical inhibitions and ORAC values (25.72–87.37% and 7.41–38.16 mg-Trolox equivalent/g, respectively). Each NCS had distinct volatile flavor composition, wherein their predominant compounds were differed based on material and origin, including acetic acid (in Japanese and Thai sugarcane- and Indonesian palm-made NCSs) and [R-(R*,R*)]-2,3-butanediol (Thai palm-made NCS). Conclusion: Taken together, material of NCS much affect its color values, bioactive contents, and antioxidant potentials, whilst both material and origin factors differentiate its volatile flavor profile.