Effect of staphylococci fermentation and their synergistic Lactobacillus on the physicochemical characteristics and nonvolatile metabolites of Chinese bacon

Abstract

The impacts of Staphylococcus cohnii, S. saprophyticus and their synergistic Lactobacillus plantarum on the quality and flavor of Chinese bacon were investigated by monitoring the physicochemical characteristics and characterizing metabolites with non-targeted metabolomics. Results showed that S. cohnii could increase the tenderness and decrease the oxidation of muscle, while S. saprophyticus stabilized the springiness and increased the proteolysis. The metabolites produced by the co-fermentation of S. cohnii and S. saprophyticus showed a higher hierarchy, then exhibited the highest hierarchy in synergy with L. plantarum. The promising flavor may be related to the arginine biosynthesis, nicotinic acid and nicotinamide metabolism, and pyrimidine metabolism pathways. Staphylococcus contributed to flavor by promoting the accumulation of di- and tripeptides and activating the amino acid metabolic pathway through arginine metabolism. These findings provide thoughts for understanding the fermentation mechanism of Staphylococcus and the targeted modulation of the flavor of Chinese bacon.