Synthesis and identification of 3-Oxazolines in cocoa

Spooner, H. G., Balagiannis, D. P., Czepa, A., Suess, B., Trotin, M., O'Nion, P. and Parker, J. K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4121-5481 (2025) Synthesis and identification of 3-Oxazolines in cocoa. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, 73 (24). pp. 15259-15269. ISSN 2354-4147 doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.5c00898

Abstract/Summary

Adding water to chocolate is known to cause a large increase in the concentration of Strecker aldehydes which are key aroma compounds in cocoa. 3-Oxazolines may be precursors responsible for this, however only a low concentration of 2-isobutyl-5-methyl-3-oxazoline was previously identified in chocolate. This study investigates the possibility of other types of 3-oxazolines being the relevant precursors present in cocoa. A range of novel 3-oxazolines were synthesized and characterized by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Using the synthesized compounds as references, four of these were identified by GC-MS for the first time in aroma extracts of cacao nibs, cocoa liquor and chocolate, obtained by solvent-assisted flavor evaporation. This study may reveal a new focus for enhancing cocoa aroma, and potentially other roasted food products as well.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/122659
Identification Number/DOI	10.1021/acs.jafc.5c00898
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Interdisciplinary centres and themes > Chemical Analysis Facility (CAF) > NMR (CAF) Life Sciences > School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy > Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences > Food Research Group
Publisher	Elsevier
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