JPH0823952A - Improvement of aroma and flavor of leaf tobacco raw material and leaf tobacco raw material improved in aroma and flavor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a method for more simply and economically improving an aroma and a flavor of a leaf tobacco raw material and obtain the leaf tobacco raw material improved in the aroma and flavor. CONSTITUTION:This method for improving an aroma and a flavor of a leaf tobacco raw material is to seal two kinds of leaf tobacco raw materials 20 and 21 in a treating tank 19, then close valves 23 and 26, subsequently inject carbon dioxide from a tank 11 through heat exchangers 15 and 17 into the treating tank 19 with a pump 16, keep the carbon dioxide at 0-50 deg.C temperature, feed the carbon dioxide to the treating tank 19 until the interior thereof is pressurized to 35-100kg/cm<2>, maintain the interior of the treating tank 19 in a state of an interior thereof increased to a prescribed pressure for 10-60min, thereby leach a flavor ingredient contained in cells in the interior of the leaf tobacco raw materials 20 and 21 into the carbon dioxide, then close a valve 18, open the valve 23, slowly reduce the pressure in the interior of the treating tank 19 to atmospheric one, thereby condense the flavor ingredient dissolved in the carbon dioxide onto the surface of the leaf tobacco raw materials 20 and 21.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for improving flavor and aroma of a leaf tobacco raw material and a leaf tobacco raw material having a flavor and aroma improved by this method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Tobacco, which is a recent product, tends to be low in nicotine and low in tar, so that the flavor and aroma of tobacco is diminished. On the other hand, the aroma and flavor of the raw leaf tobacco is also reduced due to changes in soil properties and cultivation methods. Therefore, it is becoming difficult to produce a product having an excellent flavor and taste by the conventional processing method in the tobacco manufacturing process, and it is important to enhance the flavor and taste of tobacco which is a tobacco raw material.

[0003] For example, from leaf tobacco, Japanese Patent Publication No.
No. 55-51545, 56-37280, 57-7706, alcohols, organic solvents such as hexane, JP-B-61-61790
Tobacco extract extracted using an extraction solvent such as carbon dioxide described in JP-B No. 60-45909, or steam distillation described in JP-B-60-45909, or tobacco obtained by vacuum distillation described in JP-B-60-45910. The essential oil is diluted with a solvent such as ethanol or propylene glycol and then spray-added to a tobacco raw material to improve its flavor and taste.

Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 51-9838 discloses a two-stage extraction process using carbon dioxide in a supercritical state to extract a flavor component in tobacco with anhydrous carbon dioxide, and then to extract the flavor component in the tobacco with wet carbon dioxide. Extract nicotine. Then, reduce the extracted flavor components to denicotine tobacco,
It has been proposed to obtain tobacco with low nicotine and excellent flavor and taste.

[0005]

However, when the flavor components of leaf tobacco are taken out of the system as tobacco extract or tobacco essential oil and added again, a step of separating and collecting these and a step of adding them are necessary. Further, when a tobacco extract or the like is added, it is necessary to dilute it with a solvent such as ethanol, so that the solvent may partially remain in the leaf tobacco, which is not preferable.

Further, in the above-mentioned prior art, other leaf tobacco flavor components having a strong flavor and taste are extracted or separated, and the flavor components are given to the leaf tobacco to be treated. For this reason,
The operation and equipment are complicated, and the running cost required for the treatment of leaf tobacco is high.

Further, the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 51-9838 described above requires a step of separating the flavor component and a step of re-adding the flavor component to the processing raw material, so that the process is complicated and the operation is complicated. Is. As a result, the running cost required for the leaf tobacco treatment also increases. The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides a simpler and more economical method for improving the flavor and taste of a leaf tobacco material and a leaf tobacco material with an improved flavor and taste.

[0008]

According to the present invention, (a) two or more kinds of leaf tobacco raw materials are enclosed in a treatment tank, a high-pressure fluid is supplied into the treatment tank, and then a predetermined pressure is applied to the inside of the treatment tank. A step of leaching the flavor component of the leaf tobacco by maintaining the temperature for a certain period of time, and (b) after that, the high-pressure fluid is exhausted from the treatment tank to reduce the pressure in the treatment tank, and the flavor component that has been leached Is provided on the surface of the leaf tobacco raw material to obtain a leaf tobacco raw material having a uniform flavor and taste, and a method for improving flavor and taste of leaf tobacco is provided.

Further, according to the present invention, (a) two or more kinds of leaf tobacco raw materials are enclosed in a treatment tank, a high-pressure fluid is supplied into the treatment tank, and then the inside of the treatment tank is kept at a predetermined pressure and temperature for a predetermined time. Holding and leaching the flavor component of the leaf tobacco, and (b) after that, the high-pressure fluid is exhausted from the treatment tank to reduce the pressure in the treatment tank, and the flavor component that has leached out is the leaf tobacco raw material. A leaf tobacco material treated by the method for improving the flavor and taste of leaf tobacco, comprising the step of condensing on the surface of to obtain a leaf tobacco material having a uniform flavor and taste.

The present invention will be described in more detail below. The method for improving the flavor and taste of leaf tobacco of the present invention comprises leaching the flavor components in two or more kinds of leaf tobacco raw materials with a high-pressure fluid, depressurizing the flavor components dissolved in the high-pressure fluid to condense them, and condensing them on the surface of the leaf tobacco. The object is to make the flavor components of the two or more kinds of leaf tobacco raw materials uniform by doing so. The flavor component of leaf tobacco is a volatile component having a molecular weight of 50 to 300 and a carbon number of 2 to 20. It is considered that the flavor component is mainly present in the cells of the parenchyma of the leaf portion and distributed throughout the leaf portion. On the other hand, in cigarettes, the smoked tobacco is heated while smoke and water vapor generated in the burned portion at the tip of the cigarette pass through the tobacco cut layer in the unburned portion. As a result, the highly volatile flavor component is volatilized from the tobacco cut surface of the unburned portion, merges with the smoke, and is inhaled by the smoker.
However, the heating temperature due to smoke is relatively low, the aroma component present on the surface of the cut tobacco is easily transferred into the smoke, and the aroma component present inside the cells is less likely to be transferred. Therefore, the transfer of the flavor component into the smoke depends on the amount of the flavor component existing near the surface of the tobacco cut, and particularly in the tobacco cut with a low content of the flavor component, the smoke of the flavor component in the unburned portion is smoked. Since there is little transition to, the aroma and taste are significantly reduced and the effect is large.

In the method for improving the flavor and taste of leaf tobacco of the present invention,
First, two or more kinds of leaf tobacco raw materials are enclosed in a treatment tank. Two or more types of leaf tobacco may be housed in multiple layers in the same treatment tank, for example. Further, they can be separately housed in a plurality of processing tanks that communicate with each other.

As the two or more kinds of leaf tobacco raw materials, for example, those having a low content of flavor components and those having a high content of flavor components can be used in combination. Therefore, the present invention also has the subject of enhancing the flavor and taste by localizing the flavor component on the surface of the leaf tobacco raw material having a low content of the flavor component, as compared with the untreated raw material.

Next, the flavor components contained in the cells of these leaf tobaccos are leached with a high-pressure fluid. As used herein, the term "leaching" means that at least a part of the flavor component is leached from the leaf tobacco raw material and is transferred into the high-pressure fluid. In this step, as the high pressure fluid, for example,
There are carbon dioxide, nitrous acid, lower hydrocarbons such as propane, butane and ethylene, and fluorocarbons such as CCl ₃ F, and nitrous oxide is preferable because of its high stability, solubility and critical temperature. Lower hydrocarbons are liquefied gases and are preferable because they have high volatility and solubility. Further, fluorocarbons are preferable in terms of high stability. In particular, carbon dioxide is practically inert, does not alter solutes or raw materials in the process of treatment, and has extremely high volatility, so it is possible to separate highly volatile aroma components, It is preferable because it is less likely to remain in the product, is nonflammable, has high safety, and can be supplied in large amounts.

The leaching of the flavor components in the leaf tobacco is carried out using a high-pressure fluid under the conditions of pressure and temperature at which the flavor components present in the leaf tobacco, particularly in the cells inside the leaf tobacco, are extracted. Explaining the case where carbon dioxide is used as the high-pressure fluid as an example, extraction of flavor components of leaf tobacco is related to the density of carbon dioxide molecules. Carbon dioxide in a gaseous state has low density and thus low solubility, but has low viscosity and high diffusivity. On the other hand, liquid carbon dioxide has high density and high solubility, but has high viscosity and poor diffusivity. The density of carbon dioxide in the supercritical state, which exceeds the critical point (31.1 ℃, 75.3kg / cm ² ), increases with the increase of pressure, and the viscosity and diffusivity are similar to those of gas. Therefore, in the region near the critical point where the pressure is 35 to 100 kg / cm ² and the temperature is 0 to 50 ° C., the density change of carbon dioxide molecules is large,
It has a liquid state with high solubility, a gas state with excellent diffusivity, and supercritical carbon dioxide with intermediate properties between them, and is suitable for leaching and condensing flavor components of leaf tobacco.

The leaching of the flavor component in the leaf tobacco by such a high-pressure fluid is carried out for a sufficient time so as to sufficiently transfer the flavor component to the high-pressure fluid. Pressure 35-100kg
In the case of carbon dioxide in the region near the critical point where the temperature is / cm ² and the temperature is 0 to 50 ° C., it is preferable to maintain the inside of the treatment layer under such pressure and temperature conditions for 10 to 60 minutes.

After the leaching of the flavor component is completed, the pressure of the high pressure fluid is reduced. As the pressure decreases, the density of the high pressure fluid decreases and the solubility decreases. As a result, the flavor component dissolved in the high-pressure fluid is condensed on the surface of the leaf tobacco. The pressure of the high-pressure fluid is reduced to near atmospheric pressure, for example, by opening the exhaust port of the processing tank. The flavor component contained in the leaf tobacco is condensed on the surface of the leaf tobacco. Since the flavor components leached from the two or more kinds of leaf tobacco raw materials are uniformly mixed in the high-pressure fluid, the treated leaf tobacco raw material is given a uniform flavor and taste. For example, by performing the above-mentioned treatment on two types of leaf tobacco raw materials having different flavor component contents, the flavor component of the leaf tobacco raw material having a large amount of flavor components is transferred to the leaf tobacco raw material having a small amount of flavor components, and the former It is possible to enhance the flavor and taste. Also, in the latter leaf tobacco raw material, since the flavor component is localized on the surface of the leaf tobacco, the flavor and taste is enhanced as compared with the untreated leaf tobacco raw material.

[0017]

The method for improving the flavor and taste of the leaf tobacco material of the present invention is 2
After the seed tobacco raw material is enclosed in a treatment tank and a high-pressure fluid is supplied into the treatment tank, the inside of the treatment tank is maintained at a predetermined pressure and temperature for a certain period of time to leach the flavor component of the leaf tobacco. As a result, the flavor component contained in the cells inside the leaf tobacco is transferred to the high-pressure fluid. The flavor components leached from the respective leaf tobacco raw materials in the high-pressure fluid are uniformly mixed. Next, the high-pressure fluid is exhausted from the treatment tank to reduce the pressure inside the treatment tank, and the leached flavor component is condensed on the surface of the tobacco raw material. As a result, the flavor tobacco component is uniformly applied to the leaf tobacco raw material.

In the leaf tobacco raw material with improved flavor and taste according to the present invention, the flavor component contained in the cells inside the leaf tobacco is leached by the high-pressure fluid at a predetermined pressure and temperature. The flavor components leached from the respective leaf tobacco raw materials in the high-pressure fluid are uniformly mixed. After that, when the pressure of the high-pressure fluid is reduced, the flavor component dissolved in the high-pressure fluid is condensed and adheres to the surface of the leaf tobacco raw material. As a result, the distribution of the flavor component of the leaf tobacco material is uniform.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a processing apparatus used in an example of the method for improving the flavor and taste of a leaf tobacco raw material according to the present invention.

Reference numeral 11 in the figure is a tank for containing carbon dioxide 12. The tank 11 is a jacket for temperature control on the peripheral surface.
It has 11a. At the top of the tower of tank 11, heat exchanger 13
And carbon dioxide supply via valve 14 (not shown)
Is connected. On the other hand, at the bottom of the tower of the tank 11, via the heat exchanger 15, the pump 16, the heat exchanger 17, and the valve 18,
It is connected to the bottom of the processing tank 19. A jacket 19a for temperature control is provided on the peripheral surface of the processing tank 19. Inside the treatment tank 19, the leaf tobacco raw materials 20 and 21 to be treated are enclosed. An exhaust pipe 22 is connected to the upper part of the processing tank 19, and a valve 23 is provided in the middle thereof.

A branch pipe branched from between the heat exchanger 13 and the valve 14 provided between the carbon dioxide supply source and the tank 11.
24 are connected. The other end of the branch pipe 24 is a pump
It is connected between 16 and the heat exchanger 17. Branch pipe
A pressure control valve 25 is attached in the middle of 24.

A branch pipe 26 for pressure reduction is branched and connected between the valve 18 and the processing tank 19, and a valve 27 is provided in the middle thereof. Using the processing apparatus 10 having the above-mentioned structure, the flavor and taste of the leaf tobacco material is improved as follows. First, two kinds of leaf tobacco raw materials 20 and 21 are enclosed in a processing tank 19 in a laminated form. Then, the valves 23 and 27 are closed. Next, carbon dioxide is injected into the processing tank 19 from the tank 11 by the pump 16 via the heat exchangers 15 and 17. The temperature of carbon dioxide is 0 to 50 ° C., preferably
The temperature is 5 to 40 ° C, more preferably 8 to 15 ° C. Further, carbon dioxide, the treatment tank 19 inside 35 ~ 100kg / cm ² , preferably 40 ~ 80kg / cm ² , more preferably 42 ~ 75kg / cm ^2.
Supply until pressurized. The pressure control valve 25 is set to a predetermined pressure, and when the pressure in the processing tank 19 is raised to a set value, the pressure control valve 25 opens and carbon dioxide is returned to the tank 11, so it does not flow into the processing tank 19. In this way, the inside of the processing tank 19 is maintained at a predetermined pressure and maintained for 10 to 60 minutes. As a result, the flavor components contained in the cells inside the two kinds of leaf tobacco raw materials 20, 21 are leached into carbon dioxide. The flavor components of the two leached leaf tobacco raw materials 20,21 are mixed with each other and become uniform.

After that, the valve 18 is closed, the valve 23 or the valve 27 is opened, and the pressure in the processing tank 19 is gradually reduced to atmospheric pressure. As a result, the flavor component dissolved in carbon dioxide is condensed on the surface of the leaf tobacco raw material 20, 21. As a result, the flavor components of the two kinds of leached leaf tobacco raw materials 20,21 adhere to the surface of the leaf tobacco raw materials 20,21 after being mixed with each other, so that a uniform flavor and taste is imparted to the leaf tobacco raw materials 20,21.

The carbon dioxide exhausted through the exhaust pipe 22 can be recovered and reused by a conventional method. Next, the effect of improving the flavor and taste of the leaf tobacco material was evaluated.

[0025] As a raw material for samples, a yellow-colored middle leaf system from Brazil [water content 12% WB] with a low content of flavor components and a US Burley true leaf [water content 12% with a high content of flavor components]
WB] was used. The raw materials having the weights shown in Table 1 were enclosed in the treatment tank 19 so that the raw materials were located in the upper layer and the raw materials were in the lower layer.

Pressure to the raw materials and 75 kg / cm ² ,
The flavor component was leached with carbon dioxide for 30 minutes at a temperature of 35 ° C. and a carbon dioxide flow rate of 50 g / min. Next, processing tank 19
The inside of the was depressurized to atmospheric pressure to obtain the upper layer raw material. Using the raw materials of the upper layers of Examples 1 and 2, a cigarette was wound up according to a conventional method and cigarettes were subjected to a flavor and taste evaluation test by comparison with untreated raw materials by a specially trained panel of 10 persons. This evaluation was carried out using a cigarette prepared by the same manner as the untreated leaf tobacco by the two-point comparison method as a control sample. That is, the untreated product was compared to the control product with 0 point, the slight difference was 1 point, and the significant difference was 3 point, and the untreated product was compared with the control product to give an aroma. Good taste was scored as (+) and bad taste was scored as (-) (Seiji Yoshikawa, "Measurement method of food quality", page 44, Korin Shoin, 1963). The results are also shown in Table 1.

[0027]

[Table 1]

Next, as shown in Table 2, as a test raw material, a Brazilian yellow-medium leaf type containing a small amount of a flavor component.
[Moisture 12% WB] and US yellow seed true leaf [moisture 12% WB] with high content of flavor components were used.

A raw material having the weight shown in Table 2 was placed in the treatment tank 19 so that the raw material was positioned in the upper layer and the raw material was positioned in the lower layer. The results are also shown in Table 2.

[0030]

[Table 2]

As is clear from this result, Examples 1 to 1
In all of the treated raw materials of No. 4, improvement in aroma and flavor was recognized. This is because the flavor component of the raw material of the lower layer containing a large amount of the flavor component was leached into carbon dioxide and then condensed in the raw material of the upper layer, so that the flavor and taste of the raw material was enhanced. In Examples 2 and 4, the weight ratio of the upper layer raw material to the lower layer raw material was about 4: 1, but it was confirmed that a sufficient flavor and taste improving effect was obtained.

Next, another embodiment of the method for improving the flavor and taste of the leaf tobacco raw material of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a modified example of the processing apparatus for carrying out the method for improving the flavor and taste of a leaf tobacco raw material according to the present invention. This processing device 30 has 2
It has the same configuration as the processing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 except that it is provided with one processing tank 31, 32. First treatment tank 31,
In the second treatment tank 32, there are two kinds of leaf tobacco raw materials 33,3.
4 are enclosed in a stack. Valves 35 and 36 on the inlet side and valves 37 and 38 on the outlet side are attached to the two processing tanks 31 and 32.

In the processing device 30, the flavor and taste improving process of the leaf tobacco raw material is performed as follows. First, with the valves 36, 37, and 38 closed, the first treatment tank 31
Carbon dioxide is supplied to the to brew the flavor component. Next, after closing the valve 35, the valve 37 and the valve 23 are opened to reduce the pressure in the first processing tank 31 to condense the flavor component. Details of each operation are the same as in the case of the processing apparatus 10 described above, and the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Then, the valve 35, the valve 37 and the valve
With the valve 38 closed, the valve 36 is opened and the second treatment layer 32
Carbon dioxide is supplied to the to brew the flavor component. Next, the valve 36 is closed, the valves 38 and 23 are opened, the pressure in the second processing layer 32 is reduced, and the flavor component is condensed. On the other hand, while the treatment of the leaf tobacco raw material 33 in the second treatment layer 32 is completed, the first treatment layer 31 is opened, the treated leaf tobacco raw material is taken out of the system, and then a new leaf tobacco raw material is used. The first treatment layer 31 is filled with 33. Then, after the treatment of the leaf tobacco raw material 33 in the second treatment layer 32 is completed,
The above operation is repeated.

In the second embodiment described above, the processing efficiency of the tobacco material 33 can be improved because the processing of the tobacco raw material 33 can be performed semi-continuously by alternately using the two processing layers 31 and 32. .

Next, a third embodiment of the method for improving the flavor and taste of the leaf tobacco raw material of the present invention will be described. Similar to the second embodiment, in the processing device 30 shown in FIG.
After the treatment of the leaf tobacco raw material 33 in 31 is completed, the valve 36 of the second treatment tank 32 and the valve 23 of the exhaust pipe 22 are closed while the valve 35 of the first treatment layer 31 is closed, and the valve 3
Release 7,38 gradually.

As a result, carbon dioxide is introduced from the first treatment tank 31 into the second treatment tank 32. When the pressures in the first processing tank 31 and the second processing tank 32 become substantially uniform, the valve 38 on the outlet side of the second processing tank 32 is closed and the valve 36 on the inlet side is opened. As a result, carbon dioxide is supplied from the tank 11 to the second processing tank 32, and the internal pressure rises.

After that, the flavor component is leached and condensed in the second treatment tank 32 by the same operation as described above. On the other hand, while the treatment of the leaf tobacco raw material 33 in the second treatment tank 32 is completed, the valve 36 and the valve 22 are opened, the pressure is reduced to near atmospheric pressure, and the first treatment tank 31 is opened to perform the treatment. Take out the tobacco leaf raw material outside the system, and then use a new leaf tobacco raw material.
33 is filled in the first processing tank 31. And the second processing tank
After the processing of the leaf tobacco raw material 33 in 32 is completed, the above operation is repeated.

In the third embodiment described above, as in the second embodiment, the treatment of the leaf tobacco raw material 33 can be performed semi-continuously by alternately using the two treatment tanks 31 and 32. The operation efficiency can be improved. In addition, the carbon dioxide used in one of the treatment layers can be reused, and since this carbon dioxide contains a slight amount of the flavor component, the loss of the flavor component can be reduced. As a result, the flavor and taste improving treatment of the leaf tobacco raw material can be performed more efficiently and economically.

[0040]

As described above, according to the method for improving the flavor and taste of the leaf tobacco raw material of the present invention, two or more kinds of the flavor components of the leaf tobacco raw material are leached into the high pressure fluid at a predetermined pressure and temperature, and then treated. The high-pressure fluid is exhausted from the tank to reduce the pressure in the processing tank, and the leached flavor component is condensed on the surface of the leaf tobacco raw material. As a result, the leached flavor component is evenly mixed in carbon dioxide and then adheres to the surface of the leaf tobacco material with a uniform distribution, so that the flavor and taste of the leaf tobacco material can be made uniform. Further, it is not necessary to extract and separate the flavor component in the leaf tobacco raw material and take it out of the system. Moreover, since it is not necessary to add an extract, equipment and operation are simple and running costs can be reduced.

Further, the leaf tobacco raw material of the present invention having an improved flavor and taste is depressurized by reducing the pressure of the high pressure fluid after the flavor component contained in the cells inside the leaf tobacco is leached by the high pressure fluid at a predetermined pressure and temperature. Then, the flavor component dissolved in the high-pressure fluid is condensed and attached to the surface of the tobacco raw material. The leached flavor component is evenly mixed in carbon dioxide and then adheres to the surface of the leaf tobacco raw material with a uniform distribution, so that the flavor and taste of the leaf tobacco raw material can be made uniform.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a processing apparatus used in an embodiment of a method for improving flavor and taste of a leaf tobacco raw material according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a treatment apparatus used in another embodiment of the method for improving flavor and taste of leaf tobacco raw material according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Processor, 11 ... Tank, 12 ... Carbon dioxide, 13, 15,
17 ... Heat exchanger, 14, 18, 23, 26 ... Valve, 16 ... Pump,
19 ... Treatment tank, 20, 21 ... Leaf tobacco raw material, 22, 26 ... Exhaust pipe, 24 ... Branch pipe, 25 ... Pressure control valve.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. (a) Two or more kinds of leaf tobacco raw materials are enclosed in a treatment tank, a high-pressure fluid is supplied into the treatment tank, and then the inside of the treatment tank is maintained at a predetermined pressure and temperature for a certain period of time. A step of leaching the flavor component of leaf tobacco, and (b) after that, the high-pressure fluid is exhausted from the treatment tank to reduce the pressure in the treatment tank, and the leached flavor component is condensed on the surface of the leaf tobacco raw material. A method for improving the flavor and taste of leaf tobacco, comprising the step of obtaining a raw material for tobacco having a uniform flavor and taste. 2. The method for improving the flavor and taste of leaf tobacco according to claim 1, wherein the high-pressure fluid in step (a) is selected from the group consisting of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, lower hydrocarbons and fluorocarbons. 3. In step (a), the high-pressure fluid is carbon dioxide, and the inside of the treatment tank is set to a pressure of 35 to 100 kg / cm ² and a condition of 0 to 50 ° C. near the critical point of carbon dioxide. The method for improving the flavor and taste of leaf tobacco according to claim 1. 4. The method for improving the flavor and taste of leaf tobacco according to claim 1, wherein, in the step (a), the time for maintaining the inside of the treatment tank at a predetermined pressure and temperature is 10 minutes to 60 minutes. 5. A leaf tobacco raw material treated by the method for improving flavor and taste of leaf tobacco according to claim 1.