Comprehensive Analysis of Bioactive Compounds in Malt Beverages: A Chemometric Approach for Quality Control

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
Fatemeh Zamani Mazdeh 1
Fatemeh Salami 1
Fatemeh Niazi 1
Anita Chalipour 2
Zahra Tamiji 2
Mohsen Amini 2
Mahdieh Salehifar 1
Mannan Hajimahmoodi 1
1 Department of Drug and Food Control, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.
2 Food and Drug Administration, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.
10.22034/JAST.27.3.617
Abstract
Organic acids remarkably affect the microbial control, stability, and organoleptic characteristics (flavor, color and aroma) of beverages. This study focuses on the determination of organic acids, including oxalic, citric, tartaric, malic, succinic, lactic, fumaric, acetic, propionic, and gallic acid, in 100 commercial malt beverages from different brands (five Iranian and five various imported brands) and flavored variants (classic, pomegranate, peach, tropical and lemon). In addition, the contents of total phenols, total flavonoids, ascorbic acid, and free amino acids were measured to assess the overall composition. Liquid Chromatography (LC) was employed to develop a method for analyzing the organic acids, while spectrophotometric techniques were used for quantifying other bioactive compounds. The results revealed significant variations in the organic acid profiles, with succinic acid being the most abundant, while tartaric acid was absent in all samples. Chemometrics technique (PCA method) was applied to classify the results. The results show that PCA can classify the malt drinks based on the additive values with a very high precision. To improve the quality control of malt beverages, some extra assessments, like organic acids and free amino nitrogen determination, should be considered for Iranian National Standard.

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Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology
Volume 27, Issue 3
May and June 2025
Pages 617-628