Two-dimensional gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC x GC-TOF MS), descriptive sensory analysis, and electronic tongue technology were employed to comprehensively elucidate the flavor composition of Yellow Crane Tower's light-aroma liquor Q1 based on both sensory and chemical attributes. The results indicated that Q1 exhibited significant positive correlations with the sensory descriptors "Grainy," "Fruity," "Herbaceous," "Floral," and "Harmonization." A total of 444 potential aroma compounds were identified in samples of light-aroma Baijiu from various regions. Through orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) and non-parametric one-way analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA), 81 compounds were found to be significantly different among the samples. Notably, beta-ionone, which is associated with health benefits, was detected at a concentration of 88.4 mu g/L in Q1, higher than in other samples. Additionally, the relative concentration and sensory threshold of each volatile compound were compared using the relative odor activity value (ROAV) to quantitatively assess the contribution of each compound to the overall flavor profile in liquor. The ROAV value for "Ethyl Decanoate" in Q1 was 2.803, indicating its substantial contribution to the overall flavor profile. Furthermore, beta-caryophyllene, another health-promoting compound, was uniquely detected in Q1 at a concentration of 20 mg/L.

RNA (Ribonucleic Acid) is an essential component of organisms and is widely used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Saccharomyces cerevisiae, recognized as a safe strain, is widely used for RNA production. In this study, the S. cerevisiae W303-1a was used as a starting strain and molecular modifications were made to the functional ncRNA-SRG1 to evaluate the effect on RNA production. At the same time, its transcriptionally associated helper genes (Spt2, Spt6 and Cha4) were overexpressed and the culture medium was supplemented with serine to induce SRG1 transcription, to increase SRG1 transcription levels and investigate its effect on intracellular RNA levels. The results showed that the intracellular RNA content of the recombinant strain W303-1aSRG1 was 10.27 %, an increase of 11.15 % compared to the starting strain (W303-1a, with an intracellular RNA content of 9.24 %). On this basis, a gene co-overexpression strain-W303-1a-SRG1-Spt6 was constructed. Simultaneously, the addition of 2 % serine strategy was used to increase the transcription level of SRG1 and RNA content of the recombinant strain. The intracellular RNA of the recombinant strain reached 11.41 %, an increase of 23.38 % compared to the starting strain (W303-1a, without serine supplementation). In addition, the growth performance of the strain was assessed by measuring the SRG1 transcription level in the strain and plotting the growth curve. Therefore, we found that improving the transcription level of ncRNA can be used as a new idea to construct S. cerevisiae with high RNA content, which provides a strong help for subsequent research in related fields. This work provides a new strategy for increasing the nucleic acid content of S. cerevisiae.

Background: T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a kind of aggressive hematological cancer, and the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway is activated in most patients with T-ALL and responsible for poor prognosis. 20(S)-Ginsenoside Rh2 (20(S)-GRh2) is a major active compound extracted from ginseng, which exhibits anti-cancer effects. However, the underlying anticancer mechanisms of 20(S)-GRh2 targeting the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway in T-ALL have not been explored.Methods: Cell growth and cell cycle were determined to investigate the effect of 20(S)-GRh2 on ALL cells. PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway-related proteins were detected in 20(S)-GRh2-treated Jurkat cells by immunoblotting. Antitumor effect of 20(S)-GRh2 against T-ALL was investigated in xenograft mice. The mechanisms of 20(S)-GRh2 against T-ALL were examined by cell proliferation, apoptosis, and autophagy.Results: In the present study, the results showed that 20(S)-GRh2 decreased cell growth and arrested cell cycle at the G1 phase in ALL cells. 20(S)-GRh2 induced apoptosis through enhancing reactive oxygen species generation and upregulating apoptosis-related proteins. 20(S)-GRh2 significantly elevated the levels of pEGFP-LC3 and autophagy-related proteins in Jurkat cells. Furthermore, the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway was effectively blocked by 20(S)-GRh2. 20(S)-GRh2 suppressed cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis and autophagy by suppressing the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway in Jurkat cells. Finally, 20(S)-GRh2 alleviated symptoms of leukemia and reduced the number of white blood cells and CD3 staining in the spleen of xenograft mice, indicating antitumor effects against T-ALL in vivo.Conclusion: These findings indicate that 20(S)-GRh2 exhibits beneficial effects against T-ALL through the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway and could be a natural product of novel target for T-ALL therapy. (C) 2019 The Korean Society of Ginseng. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V.

Red wine is rich in anthocyanins and procyanidins which possess multiple health-promoting properties. However, the synergistically anticancer effects of them on gastric cancer cells still undefined. The results showed that combination of malvidin-3-O-(6-O-coumaroyl)-glucoside-5-O-glucoside (M35GC) and procyanidin C1 could effectively inhibited the viability of MKN-28 cells with the lowest IC50 value. Mechanistically, M35GC and procyanidin C1 significantly induced cell apoptosis by reducing the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax, blocked cell cycle in G0/G1 phase by decreasing CDK4 protein and decreased glucose consumption and lactate production during aerobic glycolysis through suppressing the expression of HK2 protein in MKN-28 cells. In conclusion, induction of cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, as well as the inhibition of HK2 protein that participates in the glycolytic pathway and the suppression of aerobic glycolysis by M35GC and procyanidin C1 contributed to the anti-cancer effects in gastric cancer.

Esters were identified as the primary volatile flavor compounds in Chinese Baijiu, exerting a significant influence on its quality and aroma. This study focused on the yeast strain Pichia kudriavzevii, renowned for its high capacity to produce esters. Whole genome sequences were annotated and analyzed using the GO, KEGG, KOG, CAZy, and Pfam databases to determine the genetic basis underly the enhanced ester production capacity. Results showed that P. kudriavzevii gene function was concentrated in biosynthetic capacity, metabolic capacity, amino acid translocation capacity, glycoside hydrolysis capacity and transfer capacity. Additionally, acyltransferase and kinase were predicted as active sites contributing to P. kudriavzevii high ester production. We further compared the volatile composition differences between P. kudriavzevii and Saccharomyces cerevisiae through Headspace solid-phase microextraction-gas Chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS), revealing P. kudriavzevii produced 3.5 times more esters than S. cerevisiae. Overall, our findings suggest that P. kudriavzevii had potential applications in the Baijiu brewing industry. © 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.

Chinese liquor (baijiu) is a typical fermented food. In which production, melanoidins are formed in fermenting grains during low-temperature fermentation with long-term, and in distilled grains with high-temperature distillation for short-term. Here, the formation and structural characterization of melanoidins in these two distinct stages were first investigated through chemical composition analysis and spectroscopic identification. Our research showed that proteins and phenols continuously participate in melanoidin formation during fermentation and distillation processes. Distillation could produce melanoidins with larger amounts, darker colors, higher molecular weights, and more stable states than fermentation. The chemical composition including 10 carbohydrates, 17 amino acids, 5 free phenolic acids, and 7 bound phenolic acids was successfully identified in melanoidins. Ion chromatography was proposed to be an efficient method to investigate carbohydrates in melanoidins. Moreover, the potential impact of microorganisms on melanoidins was first revealed to be the possible utilization of glucose in melanoidins.

Microbes have evolved multiple mechanisms to resist environmental stresses, which are regulated in complex and delicate ways. Though the role of cell membranes in acid resistance from the perspective of physicochemical properties and membrane proteins has been deeply studied, the function of eisosomes is still in its infancy. In this study, we firstly reported the dynamic changes of eisosomes under acid stress and the decreased acid tolerance of yeasts caused by eisosome disruption. Physiological indicators and non-targeted lipid profiling revealed that eisosome disruption caused changes in multiple lipids and imbalances in lipid homeostasis, which are responsible for membrane integrity damage. Thus the increased infiltration of carboxylic acids and the raised ROS levels were detected in strains with disrupted eisosome assembly, resulting in decreased cellular tolerance. The results here provide novel insights into the acid-resistant mechanism of yeasts from the perspective of the cell membrane subdomain, which has practical impacts on green biological manufacturing and food preservation.

Daqu is of great significance to the brewing process of Baijiu, and there are variations in the light-flavor Baijiu Daqu in different regions. However, few studies have been conducted on light-flavor Daqu from the north and south regions of China. In this study, the physicochemical indices, volatile flavor components, and microbial community structure of two types of Daqu from the north and south regions of China were comparatively analyzed. The study findings reveal that Daqu originating from the southern region of China (HB) exhibits superior moisture content, acidity, starch content, and saccharification power. In contrast, Daqu from the northern region of China (SX) displays higher fermentation, esterification, and liquefaction power. The analysis of the microbial community structure revealed that HB was dominated by Bacillus, Kroppenstedtia, Saccharomycopsis, and Thermoascus, while SX was dominated by Bacillus, Prevotella, and Saccharomycopsis. The analysis detected a total of 47 volatile components in both HB Daqu and SX Daqu. The volatile components of pyrazine were significantly more abundant in HB Daqu than in SX Daqu, while alcohol compounds were more prominent in SX Daqu than in HB Daqu. In addition, the RDA analysis established a correlation between dominant microorganisms and volatile components. Cyanobacteria, Fusobacteriota, Ascomycota, Blastocladiomycota, Basidiomycota, and Mucormyce exhibited positive correlations with a significant proportion of the key volatile compounds. This study establishes a scientific foundation for improving the quality of light-flavor Daqu liquor in different regions of China. © 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.

Ethyl carbamate (EC) is a probable carcinogenic compound commonly found in fermented foods and alcoholic beverages and has been classified as a category 2A carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Alcoholic beverages are one of the main sources of EC intake by humans. Therefore, many countries have introduced a standard EC limit in alcoholic beverages. Wine is the second largest alcoholic beverage in the world after beer and is loved by consumers for its rich taste. However, different survey results showed that the detection rate of EC in wine was almost 100%, while the maximum content was as high as 100mug/L, necessitating EC content regulation in wine. The existing methods for controlling the EC level in wine mainly include optimizing raw fermentation materials and processes, using genetically engineered strains, and enzymatic methods (urease or urethanase). This review focused on introducing and comparing the advantages, disadvantages, and applicability of methods for controlling EC, and proposes two possible new techniques, that is, changing the fermentation strain and exogenously adding phenolic compounds. In the future, it is hoped that the feasibility of this prospect will be verified by pilot-scale or large-scale application to provide new insight into the regulation of EC during wine production. The formation mechanism and influencing factors of EC in wine were also introduced and the analytical methods of EC were summarized. © 2023 Institute of Food Technologists.

Vinegar is a sour-taste liquid product produced mainly by three sequential steps: saccharification, alcohol fermentation, and acetification. Vinegar has a significant position in Chinese dishes and daily life due to its flavor characteristics and health benefits. It is directly used as a food ingredient or as a diluted solution with water. Nowadays, there are many types of vinegar, and every type has its unique and desirable flavors, differentiated based on their fermentation method and raw material used. This review summarized the fermentation techniques for producing different kinds of vinegar, especially for the four famous Chinese vinegar. Furthermore, the differences between traditional and modern techniques were also described. On the other hand, the previous studies conducted on the analysis of vinegar aroma profiles have been summarized. In addition, previous studies on the analysis of vinegar aroma compounds were elaborated, including the techniques for aroma extraction, identification, and quantification. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.