Influence of vacuum filtration of Viura must on the concentration of fatty acids and their utilization in fermentation

Fatty acids such as palmitoleic, oleic, linoleic and linolenic along with sterols constitute growth or survival factors for yeast. The objective of this work was to study the influence of vacuum filtration of Viura must on fatty acid contents and their use during fermentation. The results were compared with unclarified must, the control. Filtration drastically reduced the total fatty acid concentration (81.5%) and especially unsaturated fatty acids (97.1% of linoleic, and 100% of linolenic), as well as the minor saturated acids, arachidic and behenic. In the first half of fermentation, fatty acids were excreted in the filtered must (76.8%) whereas they were consumed in the control (46.8%). In the second half of fermentation, there was greater consumption in the control sample (74.5%) than in the filtered sample (37.4%). (C) 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd on behalf of the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology.