The Department of Flavor Chemistry is engaged in the analysis and characterization of flavor compounds and related biotechnology. The main research areas include:
Identification of key flavors and their formation pathways.
Monitoring the resistance and release of odorous substances during the production, storage and consumption of food.
Production of natural flavors by fermentation with edible basidiomycetes or their enzymatic activity.
Extraction of interesting flavors for novel non-alcoholic beverages by the use of microorganisms.
The information obtained is to be used to improve the flavor quality of food through breeding, genetic optimization and adapted production processes as well as storage conditions. With a view to the bioeconomy, the aim is to produce biotechnologically inexpensive natural flavors in a sustainable manner. The sensory and nutritional properties of foods, in particular beverages, are also to be improved by fermentation with basidiomycetes and their enzymes.
Intensive research is currently being conducted on the evaluation of coherent aroma properties in green tea and soy beverages using edible basidiomycetes based on the diversity of predominant basidiomycetes. The development of high-quality secondary metabolites (natural flavors, polysaccharides) by converting by-products of the food industry (such as sour and tofu whey) will be carried out as soon as possible.
State-of-the-art technologies, such as solvent-assisted aroma evaporation (SAFE), solid-phase microextraction (SPME) or sorptive extraction using a magnetic stir bar (SBSE) combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-olfactometry (GC-MS-O) and a cooled injection system (CIS), are used to research aroma compounds.
