Metabolic characteristics of different flue-cured tobacco varieties and grades and quality improvement effects of nicotine-degrading bacteria on tobacco leaves

To investigate the metabolite differences among different varieties and grades of flue-cured tobacco, as well as the impacts of nicotine-degrading bacteria on the quality of different grades of tobacco leaves. This study employed untargeted metabolomics to identify and analyze metabolites in fermented tobacco leaves of ‘Yunyan 87’ and ‘Yunyan 97’, specifically B2F and C2F grades, while also examining the influences of nicotine-degrading bacteria on the quality of different grades of flue-cured tobacco leaves. [Results] There were significant metabolite differences between tobacco leaves of different varieties and grades. A total of 131 differential metabolites were identified between the samples of ‘Yunyan 87’ and ‘Yunyan 97’, while 138 differential metabolites were identified between B2F and C2F grades.