Abstract: To elucidate the differences in aroma style among cigarette brands and their underlying causes, comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography/time of flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC-TOFMS) was employed to profile volatile compounds in the tobacco filler of three market samples (LQ, LZ, and SY). Sensory evaluation, orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), and hierarchical clustering heatmaps were integrated for comparative assessment. The results showed that a total of 161 volatile compounds were identified in the cigarette samples. All three samples were dominated by typical tobacco aroma, LQ showed more pronounced caramel-like and spicy notes, SY exhibited stronger floral, clean and medicinal notes, and LZ presented a more evident beany character accompanied by relatively stronger fruity-sweet nuances. The OPLS-DA model effectively discriminated the samples and screened 19 marker compounds with VIP>1 and P<0.05. Mechanistic interpretation suggested that the enhanced caramel-like character of LQ was associated with higher levels of key compounds such as 2-methylfuran, benzyl alcohol, and 2,3-butanedione; the prominent clean notes of SY were linked to higher contents of triacetin and longifolene; and the fruity-sweet character of LZ was mainly related to acetaldehyde, nonanal, and geranylacetone. This study provided a scientific basis for aroma quality regulation in mid-size cigarettes.

Key words: GC×GC-TOFMS, mid-size cigarette, volatile aroma substances, OPLS-DA