Impact of Source of yeast on Volatile Composition and Sensory Properties of Samanea saman ( Rain tree) Wine

Background: Samanea saman (Rain tree) is commonly used in parks for ornamental. The ripe pods are usually littered around the tree site during fruiting season. Animals and children are attracted to it and eat the pods because of its aroma and sweet pulp. The sugary pulp is not optimally utilized in the food industry especially in wine production. Purpose: The aim was to ferment Samanea saman pulp must with different sources of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and investigate their impact on the volatile composition and sensory properties of the wine. Method: Samnea saman wine was processed from the de-seeded pods (pulp) fermented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolated from the pulp (inherent), brewer’s yeast, baker’s yeast and without starter culture. The volatile composition, odour activity values (OAVs) and sensory properties were investigated. Triplicate data obtained were subjected to OneWay ANOVA using SPSS software version 21.Mean values and Fisher’s Least Significant Difference (LSD) were determined for the separation of the means at (p≤0.05). Results: Isoamylalcohol (140.25-165.58μg/L), 1-propanol (133.53-153.32μg/L), methanol (58.57-66.65μg/L), ethylacetate (43.36-52.25μg/L) and ethylhexanoate (20.54-32.59μg/L) were the major congeners in the most accepted wine samples. Ethylhexanoate and isoamyl acetate with odour OAVs of 6517 and 482 respectively contributed highly to the aroma of the wine samples. The samples fermented with inherent yeast or brewer’s yeast produced higher concentrations of volatile compounds, odour activity values and were very much liked (8) as the commercial wine (control) and significantly (p≤0.05) different from the other two. Conclusion: The source of yeast influenced the volatile composition and sensory properties of Samanea saman wine. Since the inherent yeast compared favorably with brewer’s yeast and even better than baker’s yeast, it can be utilized industrially as alternative to commercial yeasts. The Samanea saman pulp can be used as alternative source of sugar in food industry.