Publications by authors named "Zhishun Chai"

Article Synopsis
  • The study explores how different media and methods of adding those media impact the fermentation process of cigar tobacco leaves using a plant extract and a bacterial agent.
  • Results indicate that the order of addition matters, with the best approach being to first add plant extracts followed by microbial agents.
  • This method leads to a 46% reduction in cellulose and an increase in β-carotene, enhancing the aroma and overall quality of the tobacco while also changing the composition of the microbial community.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Fungi play a pivotal role in fermentation processes, influencing the breakdown and transformation of metabolites. However, studies focusing on the effects of fungal-metabolite correlations on leaf fermentation quality enhancement are limited. This study investigated specific metabolites and fungi associated with high- and low-quality fermented plant leaves.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

With the development of the world economy and the integration of cultures, the Chinese cigar market has shown a significant upward trend. However, high-quality cigar leaves are mostly produced in Dominica, Cuba, Nicaragua and other places. In contrast, Chinese cigar leaves have problems such as insufficient aroma, which has become one of the main factors restricting the development of Chinese cigars.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Tobacco alcoholization is an important step in increasing the quality of tobacco leaf, which may convert a portion of low-grade tobacco leaves into useable product, however this may take to 2-3 years. The addition of exogenous microorganisms to tobacco leaves and treating them by biological fermentation can shorten the maturation time of tobacco leaves, and improve the quality and applicability of low-grade tobacco leaves Several strains were screened from low-grade tobacco by flow cytometry, including the bacteria , with starch degradation ability and , with protein degradation ability, and the fungus with lipid oxidase ability, and were inoculated onto tobacco leaves, both individually and in combination, for solid-state fermentation The greatest improvement in tobacco quality was observed when strains 4# and 3# were applied at a ratio of 3:1. The Maillard reaction products, such as 2-amyl furan, 1-(2-furanmethyl) -1 h-pyrrole, furfural and 2, 5-dimethylpyrazine, were significantly increased, by up to more than 2 times.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The quality of fermented plant products is closely related to microbial metabolism. Here, the associations of bacterial communities, metabolites, and functional genes were explored using multi-omics techniques based on plant leaf fermentation systems. The results showed significant changes in the structure of the microbial community, with a significant decrease in Firmicutes and a significant increase in Proteobacteria.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF