Li Yun, Wang Ya-Juan, Guo Xiao-Peng, Zhao Hong-Yuan, Ren Hai-Wei, Li Hong-Yu
School of Pharmacy, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
Lanzhou Institute for Food and Drug Control, Lanzhou, China.
Front Microbiol. 2025 Mar 12;16:1548427. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1548427. eCollection 2025.
Massa Medicata Fermentata (MMF) is a traditional medicinal/edible fermented product; however, comprehensive research on the fermentation process from a microscopic perspective remains limited. In this study, we aimed to investigate the dynamic changes and correlations of physicochemical properties, microbial communities, and metabolite profiles in different fermentation stages (0, 48, 72, and 96 h) of MMF.
Standard analytical tests, microbiome sequencing, broad-target metabolism, mixed standard-based mass spectrometry, and fine structure analysis were integrated to elucidate fluctuations in physicochemical, microbial, and metabolic levels during MMF fermentation.
During the fermentation process, bacterial diversity generally shows an increasing trend, whereas fungal diversity generally shows a decreasing trend. Revealing that the differentially abundant metabolites were primarily categorized into lipids, amino acids and derivatives, phenolic acids, organic acids, flavonoids, lignans and coumarins, nucleotides and derivatives, and alkaloids. Structural equation modeling and correlation analysis indicated that two species of bacteria (, ) and four species of fungi (, , f_Dipodascaceae, ) showed significant positive correlations with five types of differential metabolites, including lipids, flavonoids, phenolic acids, lignans and coumarins, and organic acids. These differential metabolites are essential components responsible for the therapeutic effects of MMF, particularly those that reach peak concentrations at 72 h of fermentation.
These findings are expected to provide a reference for developing strategies to strengthen the quality of MMF and promote its modern application.
神曲是一种传统的药食两用发酵产品；然而，从微观角度对发酵过程进行的全面研究仍然有限。在本研究中，我们旨在探究神曲在不同发酵阶段（0、48、72和96小时）的理化性质、微生物群落和代谢物谱的动态变化及相关性。
综合运用标准分析测试、微生物组测序、广靶代谢、基于混合标准的质谱分析和精细结构分析，以阐明神曲发酵过程中理化、微生物和代谢水平的波动情况。
在发酵过程中，细菌多样性总体呈增加趋势，而真菌多样性总体呈下降趋势。研究发现，差异丰富的代谢物主要分为脂质、氨基酸及其衍生物、酚酸、有机酸、黄酮类、木脂素和香豆素、核苷酸及其衍生物以及生物碱。结构方程模型和相关性分析表明，两种细菌（ ， ）和四种真菌（ ， ，f_Dipodascaceae， ）与包括脂质、黄酮类、酚酸、木脂素和香豆素以及有机酸在内的五种差异代谢物呈显著正相关。这些差异代谢物是神曲治疗作用的重要组成部分，尤其是那些在发酵72小时时达到峰值浓度的代谢物。
这些发现有望为制定提高神曲质量和促进其现代应用的策略提供参考。
