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Water soluble sugars play an important role in the flavors and irritations of the cigarette sensory quality and the low content of water soluble sugars in the discarded tobacco leaves was a huge obstacle for their application. To make better use of the discarded tobacco leaves, a novel roasting method with sugar supplement was developed to enhance the sugar contents and total flavor compounds (TFCs) of tobaccos. Three main factors in the roasting process namely the reaction time, reaction temperature, and glucose supplement were optimized by single factor methodology. A proper condition was established as reaction time of 10 min, reaction temperature of 140 °C, and glucose supplement of 30%, which was further optimized by the response surface method through a three-level-three-variable Box–Behnken design. Moreover, the flavor compounds of the roasted cut tobacco extracts were analyzed and their effects in cigarettes were also determined. All these results suggested that this simple and easy method could be used to make better use of discarded tobacco leaves.

Main polyacids and higher fatty acids of 112 domestic and foreign cigarette samples were determined by gas chromatography, and variation of main polyacids and contents of higher fatty acids contents were analyzed. The results showed that: (1) Average contents of the polyacids besides malic acid and total polyacides in foreign cigarettes were significantly higher than those of domestic cigarettes; Average contents of the higher fatty acids and its total amount in foreign cigarettes were significantly lower than those of domestic cigarettes. (2) Average contents of malic acid in different types of cigarettes from high to low were as followed: domestic blended foreign flue-cured domestic flue-cured foreign blended; differences in average contents of citric acid among types were significant at 5% level, domestic and foreign blended cigarettes the highest, foreign flue-cured cigarettes the second, domestic flue-cured cigarettes the least; average contents of oxalic acid in foreign blended cigarettes was highest, and was the lowest in domestic flue-cured cigarettes; differences in average contents of total polyacides among types were significant at 5% level,domestic blended cigarettes the highest, foreign flue-cured and blended cigarettes the second, domestic flue-cured cigarettes the least; Average contents of higher fatty acids and its total amount in domestic flue-cured cigarettes were significantly higher than other types. (3) Average contents of malic acid and total polyacids in different grades of domestic flue-cured cigarettes from high to low as followed: Grade 4 Grade 3 Grade 2 Grade 1; average contents of citric acid in Grade 4 of domestic flue-cured cigarettes were significantly higher compared to other grades; differences in average contents of higher fatty acids and total higher fatty acids among grades were not significant at 5% level.