Daqu Production Research Articles

Bacterial communities during the process of high-temperature Daqu production of roasted sesame-like flavour liquor

Bacterial communities in fermentative high-temperature Daqu play an important role in the Chinese roasted sesame-like flavour liquor brewing process. A culture-independent method of 16S rDNA clone library was applied to investigate the changes in bacterial diversity during the process of a Daqu fermentation. The results indicated that the types of bacteria species gradually increased with prolonged fermentation time. The first dominant bacterium, Pantoea sp. (73.68%), in the raw material was only detected at the beginning of the fermentation stage (8 days) in small quantities. The second dominant bacterium, Weissella sp. (16.99%) and the third, Lactobacillus sp. (4.57%), were both detected in the beginning fermentation sample (3.22, 11.29%), in the ripening fermentation sample (24 days; 6.89, 25.11%) and in the drying stage (49 days; 3.74, 7.47%). In the beginning fermentation, Thermoactinomyces sp. (47.57%) was detected as the first predominant bacterium, and it was also detected in the ripening fermentation stage (4.93%) and in the drying stage (15.68%). The bacterial communities in the Daqu fermentation process affected the physicochemical index of Daqu. A molecular analysis of the bacterial community from the Daqu fermentation process will benefit studies on the aroma production mechanisms from these bacteria. Copyright © 2015 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling

A DGGE Marker-Mediated Fast Monitoring of Bacterial Diversity and Comprehensive Identification of High-Temperature Daqu Starter.

Bacteria play an essential role in Daqu starter (Daqu) fermentation. The identification of Daqu bacteria was investigated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of the highly variable V3 region of the 16S rRNA gene. Here, we define a novel DGGE marker for the quick identification of Daqu bacteria. A dynamic alteration of the bacterial populations at different stages of fermentation was determined through a 2-y continuous monitoring. The physicochemical parameters of Daqu at different fermentation stages were investigated by weighing, NaOH titration, and HCl hydrolysis together with Fehling reagent methods. Furthermore, infrared spectral analysis using Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy was performed to determine physicochemical changes of Daqu. Therefore, our studies provide key insight for a comprehensive quality control of Daqu at different fermentation stages using the PCR-DGGE analysis combined with the physicochemical measurement. Chinese liquor is one of the 6 well-known distilled spirits in the world. High-temperature Daqu acts as an important source of nutrients and of microorganisms in the solid-state fermentation of Chinese Moutai-flavor liquor, which has a critical impact on the final flavor of the liquor. The study identifies a novel DGGE marker and provides an efficient way to identify bacterial diversity in Daqu from different fermentation stages. Importantly, the study defines dynamic changes of the physicochemical parameters and the infrared spectra analysis of Daqu during the fermentation process. These studies will help to (1) establish a standard operation procedure for Daqu production; (2) stabilize manufacturing process for Daqu fermentation and even for liquor brewing.

Characterization of Chinese Liquor Starter, “Daqu”, by Flavor Type with1H NMR-Based Nontargeted Analysis

"Daqu" is a fermentation starter and substrate complex that is used to initiate fermentations for the production of Chinese liquor (alcoholic spirit). Several different types of Daqu are customary used, having different flavours, i.e. light, strong, or sauce flavor. With the aim to develop objective methods to characterize and distinguish such different types of Daqu, nontargeted analyses of extracts from three typical flavor types of Daqu were carried out using (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. A significant separation of spectra of Daqu of light-flavor, strong-flavor and sauce-flavor types was achieved using principal components analysis. The separation could be attributed to higher levels of glycerol, malate, acetate and N-acetylglutamine in light-flavor Daqu; higher levels of mannitol, betaine, trimethylamine and pyroglutamate in strong-flavor Daqu; and higher levels of lactate, isoleucine, leucine, isovalerate and valine in sauce-flavor Daqu. These metabolites were regarded as the representative metabolites or biomarkers characteristic for each type of Daqu and could be associated with some of the microorganisms that have been reported in Daqu. This study highlights the application of nontargeted analysis techniques based on NMR in process research and quality control in Daqu production and liquor fermentation.

Microorganisms in Daqu: a starter culture of Chinese Maotai-flavor liquor

Maotai-flavor liquor, a famous traditional Chinese drink, is distilled from fermented sorghum in the southern province of China. Moreover, it is of interest as one of the few examples of liquor distilled from the product of a fermentation using a wild microflora starter. Daqu is the starter of this fermentation process. Daqu is a mixture of two components: milled wheat and a complex microbial community. The composition and the effects of this microbial group are largely unknown. In this study, we have analysed the constituents of the microbial community and the development of microorganisms in the industrial Daqu preparation and ripening process. More than 200 colonies were isolated and characterized. The isolates were discriminated by phenotypic and conventional biochemical taxonomic methods. The results revealed the presence of bacteria, moulds and yeasts. Bacteria consist of Bacillus, Acetobacter, Lactobacillus, and Clostridium, among which Bacillus strains were found to be predominant. Moulds consisted of Aspergillus, Mucor, Rhizopus, Monascus and Trichoderma, and Aspergillus strains were found to be predominant in the six different biotypes. Yeasts comprised Saccharomyces, Hansenula, Candida, Pichia, and Torulaspora. The most frequently isolated yeasts belonged to the genus Saccharomyces. The microbial diversity shift showed that the microbial genera changed with increasing ripening time. Knowledge of the microbial diversity in Daqu provides a basis for microflora management and understanding of the role of microbes in the Daqu production process, and the contribution of Daqu performed as a starter culture to Maotai-flavor liquor.