Authenticity of vinegar based on the determination of phenolic compounds, antioxidant capacity, and FTIR spectroscopy: comparison of fermented, distilled vinegar, and industrial acetic acid

Vaziri Nasrin, Farnaz; Ghamari, Fatemeh; Moslehishad, Maryam; Hashempour-Baltork, Fataneh

doi:10.22104/ift.2026.8003.2253

Authenticity of vinegar based on the determination of phenolic compounds, antioxidant capacity, and FTIR spectroscopy: comparison of fermented, distilled vinegar, and industrial acetic acid

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

¹ Halal Research Center of IRI, Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran

² Assistant professor Department of science payame noor university ,P.O.Box 19395-4697,Tehran,Iran

³ Department of Food Science and Technology, ShQ. C., Islamic Azad University, Shahr-e Qods, Iran

10.22104/ift.2026.8003.2253

Abstract

Introduction

Vinegar is a common condiment used in many foods and beverages, which has health-promoting properties. This study aimed to determine the authenticity and comparison of distilled and fermented vinegars compared to vinegar produced with industrial acetic acid.

Materials and Methods

In this study, 15 commercial brands of distilled and fermented vinegar samples were prepared and the vinegar samples were examined and compared in terms of total acidity, oxidation index, antioxidant activity, content of phenolic compounds and organic acids, and trace elements.

Results

Our results showed that the decrease in total acidity was related to fermented samples. Also, fermented vinegars had higher oxidation value, antioxidant activity, phenolic and organic acids with a significant difference (p<0.05) compared to distilled vinegars and acetic acid. FTIR spectrum also confirmed the presence of nutritional compounds in fermented samples in addition to acetic acid. Also, in terms of heavy metals such as lead and nickel, fermented vinegars were safer than industrial acetic acid (p<0.05), while fermented vinegars had more magnesium than acetic acid and distilled samples. Industrial acetic acid had higher lead and nickel (p<0.05), due to the catalyst applied for industrial acetic acid production.

Conclusion

The obtained data highlight the high quality of fermented vinegars compared to commercial vinegars. The biochemical composition of vinegars traditionally obtained from fruits and through simple recipes demonstrates their role and importance for human well-being and their potential beneficial effects on health. Overall, the results of this study showed that fermented vinegars are superior in terms of nutritional and functional properties to distilled vinegars and industrial acetic acid.

Graphical Abstract

Highlights

This study introduced a multi-marker approach using phenolics, antioxidants, FTIR, and organic acids for vinegar authenticity assessment
Fermented vinegar showed the highest bioactive compounds and natural organic acids, clearly differentiating it from distilled vinegar and industrial acetic acid
FTIR spectroscopy successfully distinguished natural vinegar from industrial acetic acid based on clear differences in 3300–3600 and 1500–1800 cm⁻¹ bands
Trace-element analysis revealed extremely high Pb and Ni levels in industrial acetic acid, confirming its non-natural origin.
HPLC profiling of organic acids provided a reliable chemical fingerprint for identifying authentic vinegar.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Food chemistry

References

[1] Román-Camacho, JJ., García-García, I., Santos-Dueñas, IM., García-Martínez, T., & Mauricio, JC. (2023). Latest trends in industrial vinegar production and the role of acetic acid bacteria: classification, metabolism, and applications—a comprehensive review. Foods, 12(19), 3705.

https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12193705.

[2] Luzón-Quintana, LM., Castro, R., Durán-Guerrero, E. (2021). Biotechnological processes in fruit vinegar production. Foods,10(5), 945.

https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10050945.

[3] Shahi, T JS., Pouyan, M., Ebrahimi, M., Hosseini, S., Raghara, H., et al. (2022). Comparison of physicochemical and antioxidant properties of traditional jujube, apple, and grape vinegars with industrial apple vinegar. Iran. J. Food Sci. Technol., 18(121), 173.

https://doi.org/10.52547/fsct.18.121.14.

[4] Liu Q, Tang G-Y, Zhao C-N, Gan R-Y, & Li H-B. (2019). Antioxidant activities, phenolic profiles, and organic acid contents of fruit vinegars. Antioxidants, 8(4),78.

https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox8040078.

[5] Perumpuli, P., Dilrukshi, D., Vinegar, A. (2022) functional ingredient for human health. Int. Food Res. J., 29(5), 959–74.

https://doi.org/10.47836/ifrj.29.5.01.

[6] Chen, G-L., Zheng, F-J., Lin, B., Yang, Y-X., Fang, X-C., Verma, KK., et al. (2023). Vinegar: A potential source of healthy and functional food with special reference to sugarcane vinegar. Front. Nutr.,10, 1145862.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2023.1145862

[7]Wagner, M., Heredia, JZ., Montemerlo, A., Ortiz, D., Camiña, JM., Garrido, M., et al. (2024). Multiparametric analysis and authentication of Argentinian vinegars from spectral sources. J. Food Compos. Anal., 125, 105801.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfca.2023.105801

[8]Cavdaroglu, C., & Ozen, B. (2023). Applications of UV–visible, fluorescence and mid-infrared spectroscopic methods combined with chemometrics for the authentication of apple vinegar. Foods, 12(6), 1139. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12061139.

[9]Cavdaroglu, C, & Ozen, B. (2023). Authentication of vinegars with targeted and non-targeted methods. Food Rev. Int., 39(1), 41–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/87559129.2021.1894169

[10] Cavdaroglu, C., & Ozen, B. (2022). Detection of vinegar adulteration with spirit vinegar and acetic acid using UV–visible and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Food Chem., 379, 132150.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2022.132150

[11] ISIRI 1394. Spice and Condiments— Vinegar — Test Methods. Iran National Standards Organization. 3th Revision 2022. file:///C:/Users/f.hashempour/Downloads/1394.pdf.

[12] Teimorimanesh, M., & Abbasi, H. (2022). Optimization of ammonium phosphate, potassium sulfate and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in the production of acetic acid in a batch fermentor using response surface methodology. Iran. Food Sci. Technol. Res. J., 18(4), 397-413.

https://doi.org/10.22067/IFSTRJ.2021.70315.1043

[13] Singelton, V., & Rossi, J. (1965). Colorimetry of total phenolics with phosphomolybdic-phosphotungstic acid reagents. Am. J. Enol. Vitic., 16(3), 144–58.

https://doi.org/10.5344/ajev.1965.16.3.144

[14]. Re, R., Pellegrini, N., Proteggente, A., Pannala, A., Yang, M., & Rice-Evans, C. Antioxidant activity applying an improved ABTS radical cation decolorization assay. Free Rad. Bio. Med. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0891-5849(98)00315-3

[15] Calle, JLP., Ferreiro-González, M., Ruiz-Rodríguez, A., Barbero, GF., Álvarez, JÁ., Palma, M., et al. (2021). A methodology based on FT-IR data combined with random forest model to generate spectralprints for the characterization of high-quality vinegars. Foods, 10(6),1411.

https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10061411

[16] Hajimahmoodi, M., Khanavi, M., Sadeghpour, O., Ardekani, MRS., Mazde, FZ., Khoddami, MS., et al. (2016). Application of organic acid based artificial neural network modeling for assessment of commercial vinegar authenticity. Food Anal. Methods, 9(12), 3451–9.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-016-0510-x

[17] Hashemi, M., Salehi, T., Aminzare, M., Raeisi, M., & Afshari, A. (2017). Contamination of toxic heavy metals in various foods in Iran: a review. J. Pharm. Sci. Res., 9(10),1692–7.

[18] Solieri, L., & Giudici, P. (2008). Yeasts associated to traditional balsamic vinegar: ecological and technological features. Int. J. Food Microbiol., 125(1), 36–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2007.06.022

[19] Cosmulescu, S., Stoenescu, A-M., Trandafir, I., & Tuțulescu, F. (2022). Comparison of chemical properties between traditional and commercial vinegar. Horticulturae, 8(3), 225. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8030225

[20] Qi, Z., Yang, H., Xia, X., Wang, W., & Yu, X. (2014). High strength vinegar fermentation by Acetobacter pasteurianus via enhancing alcohol respiratory chain. Biotechnol. Bioprocess Eng., 19(2),289–9, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12257-013-0727-0

[21] Ho, CW., Lazim, AM., Fazry, S., Zaki, UKHH., Lim, SJ. (2017). Varieties, production, composition and health benefits of vinegars: A review. Food Chem., 221, 1621–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.10.128

[22] Ousaaid, D., Mechchate, H., Laaroussi, H., Hano, C., Bakour, M., El Ghouizi, A., et al. (2021). Fruits vinegar: Quality characteristics, phytochemistry, and functionality. Molecules, 27(1), 222. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27010222.

[23] Yildiz E. (2023). Characterization of fruit vinegars via bioactive and organic acid profile using chemometrics. Foods, 12(20), 3769.

https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12203769

[24] Antoniewicz, J., Kochman, J., Jakubczyk, K., & Janda-Milczarek, K. (2021). The influence of time and storage conditions on the antioxidant potential and total phenolic content in homemade grape vinegars. Molecules, 26(24), 7616.

https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26247616

[25] Bakir, S., Devecioglu, D., Kayacan, S., Toydemir, G., Karbancioglu-Guler, F., Capanoglu, E. (2017). Investigating the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of different vinegars. Eur. Food Res. Technol., 243(12), 2083–94.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-017-2908-0

[26] Mohamed, SH., Salim, AI., Issa, YM., & Ali, AE. (2021). Detection and identification of adulteration in vinegar samples based on reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) strategies. ACS Food Sci. Technol., 2(1), 21–30.

https://doi.org/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.1c00169.

[27] Kadiroğlu, P. (2018). FTIR spectroscopy for prediction of quality parameters and antimicrobial activity of commercial vinegars with chemometrics. J. Sci. Food Agric., 98(11), 4121–7.

https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.8929

[28] Shao, L., Zhao, X., Cai, W., Zhang, Q., & Shan, C. (2025). Changes in nutrient composition, antioxidant capacity, phenolics, and volatile organic compounds in black mulberry vinegar across different fermentation stages. Food Bios., 66,106222.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fbio.2025.106222

[29] Karavoltsos, S., Sakellari, A., Sinanoglou, VJ., Zoumpoulakis, P., Plavšić, M., Dassenakis, M., et al. (2020). Copper complexing capacity and trace metal content in common and balsamic vinegars: impact of organic matter. Molecules, 25(4), 861.

https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25040861.

[30] Judith, OO., Ezemba, AS., Ajeh, JE., Chude, CO., & Ezemba, CC. (2021). Evaluation of the proximate and elemental composition of traditional and industrial produced vinegar. Int. J. Innov. Res. Dev.,10(5).

https://doi.org/10.24940/ijird/2021/v10/i5/MAY21040

[31] Antoniewicz, J., Jakubczyk, K., Kupnicka, P., Bosiacki, M., Chlubek, D., Janda, K. (2022). Analysis of selected minerals in homemade grape vinegars obtained by spontaneous fermentation. Biol. Trace Elem. Res., 200, 910-919.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-021-02671-9