ENANTIOMERIC SEPARATION OF CHIRAL COMPONENTS REPORTED TO BE IN COFFEE, TEA, OR COCOA

Literally hundreds of volatile compounds have been identified in coffee, tea, and cocoa. A significant proportion of these compounds are known to be chiral. The enantiomeric composition of most of these compounds is unknown, and until recently there were no efficient analytical procedures for their identification. The advent of cyclodextrin-based chiral stationary phases for capillary gas chromatography provides effective means for the enantioselectivity analysis of many of these compounds. Some of these are known to be flavor and fragrance components that occur naturally or are produced from the manufacturing process (e.g., fermentation, drying, and roasting).