To understand the individual enological function of different unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs), the separated effects of three different UFAs, linoleic acid (LA), oleic acid (OA), and α-linolenic acid (ALA), on yeast fermentation and aroma compounds were investigated in the alcoholic fermentation of Cabernet Sauvignon wine. The results showed that, besides concentration, UFAs types could also influence fermentation process and volatiles in final wine. Low concentrations of UFAs (12 and 60 mg/L), especially LA and OA, significantly promoted fermentation activity and most volatiles when compared to the control, however, the effect became the inhibition with increasing concentrations of UFAs (120 and 240 mg/L). It was interesting to find that OA addition (12 and 60 mg/L) could generate more acetate esters (especially isoamyl acetate) in wine, while 12 mg/L LA facilitated more fatty acids formation (octanoic acid and decanoic acid). In comparison, 120 and 240 mg/L ALA produced more amount of C6 alcohols (1-hexanol) and higher alcohols (isobutyl alcohol and 2,3-butanediol). UFAs additions were unfavorable for ethyl esters formation, except for an increment of ethyl hexanoate in 12 mg/L OA wine. As a result, different aromatic profiles of wines were generated by variations of UFAs types and levels, as shown by PCA. The transcriptional data revealed that the expressions of aroma-related genes, such as BAT1, BAT2, PDC1, PDC5, PDC6, ACC1, FAS1, ATF1, EEB1, and EHT1 were correlated with aroma compounds productions in different treatments. Our data suggested that the three UFAs have different enological functions and they could generate different aromatic profiles. Thus, besides concentrations, it is essential to consider the types of UFAs when applying the strategy to adjust UFAs contents to modulate the aromatic quality of wines.
Keywords: Saccharomyces cerevisiae; linoleic acid; oleic acid; red wine; volatile aroma compounds; α-linolenic acid.