Iguchi Hiroyuki, Watanabe Akihisa
Department of Agriculture and Food Technology, Faculty of Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyoto University of Advanced Science, 1-1 Nanjo-Ohtani, Sogabe, Kameoka, Kyoto, Japan.
Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2025 Jun 23;89(7):1062-1069. doi: 10.1093/bbb/zbaf057.
Honey is formed from floral nectar through bee-derived substances, dehydration, and chemical reactions during storage in beehives. While bacteria and fungi inhabit honey and beehives, their roles in honey maturation remain unclear. In this study, we characterized the fermentation process of honey from Apis cerana japonica (Japanese honeybee) with respect to its microbial and flavor compound profiles. Metagenomic analysis revealed that the fungi in Japanese honeybee honey are dominated by Zygosaccharomyces siamensis, with minor members of Talaromyces, Oidiodendron, Starmerella, and Priceomyces. Fermentation of diluted raw honey increased the population of Z. siamensis. Inoculating honey with Z. siamensis produced aromatic compounds, including isoamyl alcohol, hotrienol, 2-phenylethanol, and 2-phenylethyl acetate, as well as the organic acid succinate. These results indicate that fermentation by Z. siamensis can generate favorable flavor compounds, offering the potential for enhancing honey's sensory qualities and applications in the food industry.
蜂蜜是由花蜜通过蜜蜂分泌的物质、脱水以及在蜂巢中储存期间的化学反应形成的。虽然细菌和真菌存在于蜂蜜和蜂巢中，但它们在蜂蜜成熟过程中的作用仍不清楚。在本研究中，我们针对日本蜜蜂（Apis cerana japonica）蜂蜜的微生物和风味化合物特征，对其发酵过程进行了表征。宏基因组分析表明，日本蜜蜂蜂蜜中的真菌以暹罗接合酵母为主，还有少量的篮状菌属、短梗霉属、星马氏酵母属和普氏酵母属。稀释的生蜂蜜发酵增加了暹罗接合酵母的数量。用暹罗接合酵母接种蜂蜜产生了芳香化合物，包括异戊醇、热三烯醇、2-苯乙醇和2-苯乙酸乙酯，以及有机酸琥珀酸。这些结果表明，暹罗接合酵母发酵可以产生有益的风味化合物，为提高蜂蜜的感官品质及其在食品工业中的应用提供了潜力。
