Application of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) in combination with Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) for rapid analysis of the tequila production process

P.M. Mondragón-Cortez; E.J. Herrera-López; E. Arriola-Guevara; G.M. Guatemala-Morales

doi:10.24275/rmiq/Alim2806

P.M. Mondragón-Cortez Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco, A.C.
E.J. Herrera-López Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco, A.C.
E. Arriola-Guevara Universidad de Guadalajara https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1452-7738
G.M. Guatemala-Morales Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco, A.C. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8407-0596

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24275/rmiq/Alim2806

Keywords: Tequila, FTIR-ATR spectroscopy, agave juice, characterization process, stage of aging

Abstract

The manufacturing process of tequila made of Agave tequilana Weber var. azul consists of several important process stages such as milling, cooking, fermentation, distillation, and aging. The purpose of this contribution was to characterize five of the most important stages of the tequila production process in a pilot plant by using FTIR-ATR spectroscopy. The results showed that FTIR-ATR spectra of raw juices in the range 4000 and 700 cm^-1, were mostly composed of absorption peaks associated with water and fructose. The spectra of cooked juices showed the thermal hydrolysis of the fructans to fructose in the interval between 1200 and 800 cm^-1. The FTIR-ATR spectra of the samples fermented showed a gradual sequence transforming fructose peaks to ethanol peaks during the interval time from 0 to 48 h at 35°C. The spectra obtained from the distillation showed that the intensity of the peaks was a function of the concentration of ethanol in the product distillates. The evolution of the aging of the “tequila blanco” in an oak barrel was monitored for 60 days. The results showed that the region between 1300 and 900 cm^-1 of the FTIR-ATR spectra was associated with the aging process in the oak barrel.

Author Biographies

P.M. Mondragón-Cortez, Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco, A.C.

Senior Researcher, Level I at the S.N.I., 13 years of experience at CIATEJ in technological services and directed research projects, supervision of undergraduate and master's theses. Development of analytical methods for the detection of molecules with bio-functional interest.

E.J. Herrera-López, Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco, A.C.

Researcher at CIATEJ since 1997 and currently serves as Titular C researcher. He has directed various research projects related to the design of sensors and strategies to monitor metabolites of biotechnological interest and that are difficult to determine in real time. The use of mathematical and engineering tools has allowed it to collaborate with other divisions such as Environmental Technology, Food Technology, as well as Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology.

E. Arriola-Guevara, Universidad de Guadalajara

Enrique Arriola-Guevara, Professor; National Researcher-I, awarded as university professor with a desirable profile since 1999. Ph.D., ChE Oregon State University (OSU); M.S., ChE (OSU); B.S., ChE. Universidad de Guanajuato, México.

He has long experience in different academic positions at several mexican universities, including 3 years Instructor at Oregon State University. His non-academic positions include Production Engineer in a Sulfuric Acid Plant, Construction manager and Lab Head in a Chemical Engineering Lab Construction Program, and Consultant to numerous firms, agencies and individuals. His Fields of Specialization are Fluidization Engineering, Transport Phenomena, Thermodynamics, and Food Engineering, developing a novel multi-stage spouted bed system (co-owner of two patents). Adviser for 60 bachelor projects, 15 master’s y 4 PhD’s. Local Chairman of the Mexican Institute of Chemical Engineers (2006), Reviewer for “Revista Mexicana de Ingeniería Química” (Journal of Mexican Chemical Engineering) and “Journal of Food Science and Technology”. His publications include 3 books, 4 chapters, more than 30 papers in Refereed Technical Journals, 2 Technical supervisions to the Spanish version of well known ChE books (Chemical Reaction Engineering by O.Levenspiel, and Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes by R.M. Felder and R.W. Rousseau), and about 70 national and international Conference Proceedings published. Finally, he had received several Professional Recognitions, including local and federal awards as Lecturer and Researcher.

G.M. Guatemala-Morales, Centro de Investigación y Asistencia en Tecnología y Diseño del Estado de Jalisco, A.C.

Guadalupe M. Guatemala-Morales, Food Science and Technology Researcher, (National Researcher-I); PhD (2007) and MS (2003) in Chemical Engineering (University of Guadalajara). Co-inventor on 5 patents; National Honorable Mention in the National Science and Technology Award (2007); twice a finalist for the State Prize same category (2007 and 2012); she has published 25 scientific papers; she has been leader in research projects; and, adviser for 10 bachelor projects, 10 master’s and 7 PhD’s. Her nonacademic experience includes: new product development chemistry (CIBA GEIGY-1990). Active member of the Academy of Research and Teaching in Chemical Engineering (since 2002 AMIDIQ).

Her experience is in three lines of research: development of food products and processes; industrial application of multistage spouted bed systems; and, finally, in the application of engineering and modeling to biotechnological processes.

References

Arellano, M., Pelayo, C., Ramírez, J. and Rodriguez, I. (2008). Characterization of kinetic parameters and the formation of volatile compounds during the tequila fermentation by wild yeasts isolated from agave juice. Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology, 35, 835-841. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10295-008-0355-4.

Arrieta-Almario, A., Mendoza-Fandiño, J. and Palencia-Luna, M. (2019). Composite material elaborated from conducting biopolymer cassava starch and polyaniline. Revista Mexicana De Ingeniería Química, 19, 707-715.

https://doi.org/10.24275/rmiq/Mat765.

Arrizon, J., Fiore, C., Acosta, G., Romano, P. and Gschaedler, A. (2006). Fermentation behavior and volatile compound production by agave and grape must yeasts in high sugar Agave tequilana and grape must fermentations. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek, 89, 181-189. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10482-005-9022-1.

Baishya, R., Chatterjee, R., Banerjee, S., and Hasnain, M. (2021). Application of FESEM and FTIR for evaluation of Staphylococcus aureus biofilms grown on chitin and polycarbonate membrane. Revista Mexicana De Ingeniería Química, 20, 509-519. https://doi.org/10.24275/rmiq/Mat2175

Barbosa-García, O., Ramos-Ortíz, G., Maldonado, J. L., Pichardo-Molina, J. L., Meneses-Nava, M. A., Landgrave, J. E. A. and Cervantes-Martínez, J. (2007). UV–vis absorption spectroscopy and multivariate analysis as a method to discriminate tequila. Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, 66, 129-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.saa.2006.02.033.

Belchior, V., Gonzalvez, Botelho B., Olivera, L. S. and Franca, A. S. (2019). Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and chemometrics for discrimination of espresso coffees with different sensory characteristics. Food Chemistry, 273, 178-185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2017.12.026.

Cadet, F., Robert, C. and Offmann, B. (1997). Simultaneous determination of sugars by multivariate analysis applied to mid-infrared spectra of biological samples. Applied spectroscopy, 51, 369-375. https://doi.org/10.1366/0003702971940224

Cassani, L., Santos, M., Gerbino, E., Moreira, M. R. and Gómez-Zavaglia, A. (2018). A combined approach of infrared spectroscopy and multivariative analysis for the simultaneous determination of sugars and fructans in strawberry juices during storage. Journal of Food Science, 83, 631-638. https://doi.org/10.1111/1750-3841.13994

Coates, J. (2000). Interpretation of infrared spectra, a practical approach, Encyclopedia of analytical chemistry, R. A. Meyers (editor), John Wiley and son Ltd, Chichester, 10815-10837.

Contreras U., Barbosa-García, O., Pichardo-Molina, J. L., Ramos-Ortíz, G., Maldonado, J. L., Meneses-Nava, M. A., Ornelas-Soto, N. E. and López-de-alba, P. L. (2010). Screening method for identification of adulterate and fake tequilas by using UV–VIS spectroscopy and chemometrics. Food Research International, 43, 2356-2362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2010.09.001.

Di Egidio, V., Sinelli, N., Giovanelli G., Moles, A. and Casiraghi, E. (2010). NIR and MIR spectroscopy as rapid methods to monitor red wine fermentation. Europe Food Research and Technology, 230, 947-955.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-010-1227-5.

Frausto-Reyes, C., Medina-Gutiérrez, C., Sato-Berro, R. and Sahagún, L. R. (2005). Qualitative study of ethanol content in tequilas by Raman spectroscopy and principal component analysis. Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy 61, 2657-2662. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.saa.2004.10.008.

Gómez-Montaño, F., Orduña-Díaz, A., Avelino-Flores, M., Avelino-Flores, F., and Reyes-Betanzo, C. (2021). Specific optical-based biosensor to rapid detection of Salmonella Typhimurium using FTIR: evaluation in natural orange juice, as an application in food products. Revista Mexicana De Ingeniería Química, 20, Bio2538. https://doi.org/10.24275/rmiq/Bio2538

Grube, M., Bekers, M., Upite, D. and Kaminska, E. (2002). Infrared spectra of some fructans. Spectroscopy, 16, 289-296. https://doi.org/10.1155/2002/637587.

Hind, A. R., Bhargava, S. K. and McKinnon, A. (2001). At the solid/liquid interface: FTIR/ATR: the tool of choice. Advances in Colloids and Interface Science, 93, 91-114. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0001-8686(00)00079-8.

Karoui, R., Downey, G. and Blecker, C. (2010). Mid-infrared spectroscopy coupled with chemometrics: A tool for the analysis of intact food systems and the exploration of their molecular structure-quality relationships - A review. Chemical Reviews, 110, 6144-6168. https://doi.org/10.1021/cr100090k.

Lachenmeier, D. W. (2007). Rapid quality control of spirit drinks and beer using multivariate data analysis of Fourier transform infrared spectra. Food Chemistry, 101, 825-832. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2005.12.032.

Lachenmeier, D. W., Richling, E., López, M. G., Frank, W. and Schreier, P. (2005). Multivariate analysis of FTIR and ion chromatographic data for the quality control of tequila. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 53, 2151-2157. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf048637f.

Lee, L. C., Liong, C. Y. and Jemain, A. A. (2017). A contemporary review on data preprocessing (DP) practice strategy in ATR-FTIR spectrum. Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems, 163, 64-75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemolab.2017.02.008.

Leopold, L. F., Leopold, N., Diehl, H. A. and Socaciu, C. (2011). Quantification of carbohydrates in fruit juices using FTIR spectroscopy and multivariate analysis. Spectroscopy, 26, 93-104. https://doi.org/10.3233/SPE-2011-0529.

Llario, R., Iñón, F. A., Garrigues, S. and de la Guardia, M. (2006). Determination of quality parameters of beers by the use of attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Talanta, 69, 469-480. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2005.10.016.

Lohumi, S., Lee, S., Lee, H. and Cho, B. K. (2015). A review of vibrational spectroscopic techniques for the detection of food authenticity and adulteration. Trends in Food Science and Technology, 46, 85-98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2015.08.003.

López, M. G., Mancilla-Margalli, N. A. and Mendoza-Díaz, G. (2003). Molecular structures of fructans from Agave tequilana Weber var. azul. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 51, 7835-7840. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf030383v.

López Ramírez, J. E., Martín del Campo, S. T., Escalona-Buendía, H., García-Fajardo, J. and Estarrón-Espinosa, M. (2013). Physicochemical quality of tequila during barrel maturation. A preliminary study. CyTA-Journal of Food, 11, 223-233. https://doi.org/10.1080/19476337.2012.727033.

Martín del Campo, S. T., Gómez Hernández, H. E., Gutiérrez, H., Escalona, H., Estarrón, M. and Cosío Ramírez, R. (2011). Volatile composition of tequila. Evaluation of three extraction methods. CyTA – Journal of Food, 9, 152–159. https://doi.org/10.1080/19476337.2010.499569.

Mellado-Mojica, E. and Lopez, M. G. (2012). Fructan metabolism in A. tequilana Weber blue variety along its developmental cycle in the field. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 60, 11704-11713. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf303332n.

Muñoz-Muñoz, A.C., Grenier, A.C., Gutiérrez-Pulido, H. and Cervantes-Martínez, J. (2008). Development and validation of a high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection method for the determination of aging markers in tequila. Journal of Chromatography A, 1213, 218–223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2008.10.018.

Muñoz-Rodríguez, D., Wrobel, K. and Wrobel, K. (2005). Determination of aldehydes in tequila by high-performance liquid chromatography with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine derivatization. European Food Research and Technology, 221, 798-802. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-005-0038-6.

Paradkar, M. M. and Irudayaraj, J. (2002). Rapid determination of caffeine content in soft drinks using FTIR–ATR spectroscopy. Food Chemistry, 78, 261-266. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0308-8146(02)00116-4.

Prado Jaramillo, N., Estarrón-Espinosa, M., Escalona-Buendía, H., Cosío-Ramírez, R. and Martín-del-Campo, S. T. (2015). Volatile compounds generation during different stages of the Tequila production process. A preliminary study. LWT-Food Science and Technology, 61, 471-483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2014.11.042.

Prado-Ramírez, R., González-Alvarez, V., Pelayo-Ortiz, C., Casillas, N., Estarrón, M. and Gómez-Hernández, H. E. (2005). The role of distillation on the quality of tequila. International Journal of Food Science and Technology, 40, 701-708. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2621.2005.00983.x.

Rodríguez-Garay, B., Gutiérrez-Mora, A., Arrizon-Gaviño, J. P., Loera-Quezada, M. M., Flores-Berrios, E. P., Rincón-Enríquez, G., Quiñones-Aguilar, E. E. and Qui-Zapata, J. A. (2015). La materia prima: Agave tequilana Weber var. Azul. In: Ciencia y tecnología del tequila: avances y perspectivas, (A. C. Gschaedler-Mathis, B. Rodríguez-Garay, R. Prado-Ramírez and J. L. Flores-Montaño eds.), Pp. 17-53. CIATEJ, Guadalajara, Jalisco, México.

Rodríguez-Saona, L. E. and Allendorf, M. E. (2011). Use of FTIR for rapid authentication and detection of adulteration of food. Annual Review of Food Science and Technology, 2, 467-483. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-food-022510-133750.

Silva, S. D., Feliciano, R. P., Boas, L. V. and Bronze, M. R. (2014). Application of FTIR-ATR to Moscatel dessert wines for prediction of total phenolic and flavonoid contents and antioxidant capacity. Food Chemistry, 150, 489-493.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2013.11.028.

Smyth, H. and Cozzolino, D. (2013). Instrumental methods (spectroscopy, electronic nose, and tongue) as tools to predict taste and aroma in beverages: advantages and limitations. Chemical Reviews, 113, 1429-1440. https://doi.org/10.1021/cr300076c.

Stuart, B. (2004). Infrared Spectroscopy: Fundamentals and applications. Wiley, Chichester, England. DOI:10.1002/0470011149.

Vallejo-Cordova, B., González-Córdova, A. F. and Estrada-Montoya, C. M. (2004). Tequila volatile characterization and ethyl ester determination by solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis. Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry, 52, 5567–5571. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf0499119.

Vázquez-Vuelvas, O. F., Chávez-Camacho, F. A., Meza-Velázquez, J. A., Mendez-Merino, E., Ríos-Licea, M. M. and Contreras-Esquivel, J. C. (2020). A comparative FTIR study for supplemented agavin as functional food. Food Hydrocolloids, 103, 105642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodhyd.2020.105642.

Waleckx, E., Gschaedler, A., Colonna-Ceccaldi, B. and Monsan, P. (2008). Hydrolysis of fructans from Agave tequilana Weber var. azul during the cooking step in a traditional tequila elaboration process. Food Chemistry, 108, 40-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2007.10.028.

Wu, Z., Xu, E., Long, J., Zhang, Y., Wang, F., Xu, X., Jin, Z. and Jiao, A. (2015). Monitoring of fermentation process parameters of Chinese rice wine using attenuated total reflectance mid-infrared spectroscopy. Food Control, 50, 405-412.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2014.09.028

Zeinalipour-Yazdi, C. D. and Loizidou, E. Z. (2021). An experimental FTIR-ATR on computational study of H-bonding in ethanol/water mixture. Chemical Physics, 550, 11295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemphys.2021.111295

Application of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) in combination with Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) for rapid analysis of the tequila production process

Abstract

Author Biographies

References

Most read articles by the same author(s)