Durian fruit is rich in volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs), especially thiols and disulfides, which contribute to its onion-like odor. After fermentation, these VSCs were reduced to trace or undetectable levels in durian wine. The possible reduction mechanism of these VSCs (especially diethyl disulfide and ethanethiol) was investigated in a modified buffer in the presence of sulfite at different pH. An interconversion between diethyl disulfide and ethanethiol was found to be dependent on the pH: the higher the pH, the higher production of ethanethiol. It is suggested that, during durian wine fermentation, disulfides endogenous to durian pulp might be firstly converted into their corresponding thiols in the presence of reductant sulfite formed by yeast. The produced thiols as well as the thiols endogenous to the durian pulp were then removed by the mannoproteins of yeast lees.
Keywords: diethyl disulfide; ethanethiol; interconversion; mannoprotein; yeast lees.