Analysis of dipeptides in Chinese liquors based on dansylation combined with liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry

Dipeptides have been shown to be an important taste substance in alcoholic beverages. However, the characterization of dipeptides in Chinese liquors was poor. Here, dansylation combined with liquid chromatography – mass spectrometry was employed to analyze dipeptides in eight liquors of two flavors. Consequently, 35 dipeptides were identified from liquors and 32 of them were quantified. Dipeptide quantification showed LODs smaller than 2.5 ng/mL. The calibration curves showed concentration spans from two to three orders of magnitude with satisfactory linearity. The matrix effects in low and high concentrations were from −25.71 % to 24.19 % and −14.82 % to 20.73 %, respectively. Intra- and inter-day precision is lower than 15 % for both low and high concentrations. The dipeptide contents in sauce flavor liquors were higher than those in strong flavor liquors. Ala- and -Phe dipeptides showed their unique trends between sauce and strong flavor liquors. This study provides new clues to evaluate taste of liquors.