Effects of Different Sorghum Cultivars on the Formation of Ethyl Carbamate in the Solid-state Fermentation Process of Chinese Liquor

Abstract:

Ethyl carbamate （EC） is a carcinogen which is widely found in alcoholic beverages. The changes of EC and its precursors in the solid-state fermentation process were explored to illustrate the effects of various sorghum cultivars on EC formation，which could provide a theoretical foundation to decrease the content of EC in Chinese liquor. The results showed that the final EC yield in waxy sorghum （S3） was 4.27 mg/kg and higher than that in non-waxy sorghum，which were 4.06 mg/kg for S1 and 4.21 mg/kg for S2，respectively. Moreover，the average accumulation rate of EC in S3 was 0.39 mg/kg/d which was 1.6 times as high as that in S1 （0.22 mg/kg/d） and S2 （0.24 mg/kg/d）. Citrulline and urea were found to be two major precursors of EC in the solid-state fermentation process，where citrulline mainly contributed to EC formation in S1 and S2，while urea gave more contribution in S3. In addition，cyanide was not involved in EC formation during the solid-state fermentation. This study indicated that the effects of different sorghum cultivars on EC formation were significantly different. The control of EC precursors by choosing appropriate sorghum cultivars could effectively reduce the final EC yield in Chinese liquor.