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Scientific Officer

Flavour and Analytical Chemistry

MSc (Chem)

Michelle Leus

Contact

Tel 64 3 479 7565 Ext 7565
Email michelle.leus@otago.ac.nz
Location Archway West G02


About

Flavour is a very important aspect of food and by smelling something we can assess if it something we know, if it is ripe and good to eat, or if something is no longer good to consume.
The compounds responsible for flavour can be complex and at trace levels. To identify and assess the contribution of odour active compounds we use gas chromatography mass spectroscopy with concurrent odour evaluation (GC-O-MS). This means people smell the individual compounds that make up wine, beer, cheese and we have equipment that will put a name to these compounds. We also use a range of other isolation and identification techniques such as Proton Transfer Mass Spectroscopy (PTRMS).
I did an MSc in Chemistry at Otago and have worked on a variety of research projects. Since working with flavour volatiles I have a completely new respect for a human nose.

Publications

Roberts, R., Silcock, P., Leus, M., Biasioli, F., Bremer, P., & Eyres, G. T. (2024). Analysis of terpenoid biotransformation in beer by commercial Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast using headspace SPME-GC/MS. Food Chemistry Advances, 4, 100692. doi: 10.1016/j.focha.2024.100692 Journal - Research Article

Fatima, T., Bunt, C., Agyei, D., Kebede, B., Leus, M., & Morris, S. (2023). Characterisation of volatile compounds in commercially available Horopito and Kawakawa teas. Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute of Food Science & Technology (NZIFST) Conference: Food in a Changing World. S05. Retrieved from https://nzifst.org.nz Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Tantamacharik, T., Leong, S. Y., Leus, M. J., Eyres, G. T., Burritt, D. J., & Oey, I. (2019). Structural changes induced by pulsed electric fields increase the concentration of volatiles released in red onion (Allium cepa L. var. Red Pearl) bulbs. Foods, 8(9), 368. doi: 10.3390/foods8090368 Journal - Research Article

Nandakumar, R., Eyres, G. T., Burritt, D. J., Kebede, B., Leus, M., & Oey, I. (2018). Impact of pulsed electric fields on the volatile compounds produced in whole onions (Allium cepa and Allium fistulosum). Foods, 7(11), 183. doi: 10.3390/foods7110183 Journal - Research Article

Kanokruangrong, S., Mungure, T. E., Bekhit, A. E.-D. A., Birch, J., & Leus, M. (2017). The effect of further dry aging on the volatiles of wet aged rib eye steaks. In D. Troy, C. McDonnell, L. Hinds & J. Kerry (Eds.), Proceedings of the 63rd International Congress of Meat Science & Technology (ICoMST). (pp. 178-179). Wageningen, The Netherlands: Wageningen Academic. doi: 10.3921/978-90-8686-860-5 Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Full paper

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