Bacterial community of Mei vinegar

Mei (Prunus mume) is a multifunctional fruit with rich nutritional value, which is seriously wasted due to untimely utilization after maturation, and Mei fruits are not easy to store and are extremely perishable, which hinders its value. This study aimed to evaluate the changes and correlation of quality, volatile flavor compounds (VFC) and microorganisms of Mei vinegar (MV) during acetic acid fermentation (AAF) and low- temperature clarification (LTC) with different clarifiers. The results showed that AAF was beneficial to improve the bioactive components and antioxidant capacity of MV. A total of 73 VFCs were identified, including 9 alcohols, 28 esters, 5 aldehydes, 18 acids, 4 phenols, 1 ketone, 5 alkanes, and 3 others. The bacterial community at the phylum level and the genus level had a positive regulatory effect on the esters in the 20 VFCs that were stably present in MV. Firmicutes and Pediococcus were dominant at the phylum and genus levels of MV bacterial community, respectively. These results provide a reference for the development of MV and the selection of clarifiers and also provide a theoretical basis for the improvement of the quality and flavor of MV.