This study focused on the microbiota and chemical compounds of the fermented Pinelliae Rhizoma produced in Longchang (LC), Zizhong (ZZ) and Xindu (XD), in Sichuan Province (China). High-throughput sequencing was used to analyze the microbiota. GC-MS and LC-MS were used to detect the compounds produced during the three different Pinelliae Rhizoma fermentation processes. The bacteria and fungi of the three fermented Pinelliae Rhizoma differed substantially, with the bacterial content mainly composed of the Bacillus genus, while the common fungi were only included in four OTUs, which belong to three species of Eurotiomycetes and Aspergillus cibarius . 51 volatile compounds were detected; they varied between LC, XD, and ZZ fermented Pinelliae Rhizoma . C10 and C15 terpenes were most frequently detected, and only curcumene and β-bisabolene were detected in the three fermented Pinelliae Rhizoma . 65 non-volatile compounds were detected by LC-MS, most were of C16, C18, C20, C21 and C22 structures. Cluster analysis showed more similarity between LC and XD fermented Pinelliae Rhizoma with regards to volatile compound content, but more similarity between the XD and ZZ fermented Pinelliae Rhizoma for non-volatiles. Moreover, no correlation between geographical distance and microflora or compounds of fermented Pinelliae Rhizoma was observed. These results showed that hundreds of compounds are produced by the natural mixed fermentation of Pinelliae Rhizoma , and may mostly relate to the microorganisms of five species.

To explore the feasibility of the Skin Care Function of fermentative traditional Chinese medicine, Pichia kudriavzevii strains isolated from Strong-flavor baijiu grains were used to ferment food homologous traditional Chinese medicine with the assistance of bifidobacterial. We analyzed 16 Pichia kudriavzevii strains and 13 kinds of Chinese herbal medicines in the present study. Firstly, nine Chinese herbal medicines were selected according to the growth of bifidobacteria in the broth of 13 Chinese herbal medicines. The 9 Pichia kudriavzevii strains that could promote the growth of bifidobacteria were screened by sequential fermentation. The 9 Pichia kudriavzevii strains and bifidobacteria sequentially fermented the above nine kinds of traditional Chinese medicine broth according to different formulas. The broth's residual moisture rate, hydroxyl radical scavenging rate, and tyrosinase inhibition rate were detected to evaluate its skincare function. Better skin care function was found in the sequentially fermented broth of No.3 composed of Rhodiola, Raspberry, Bletilla striata, Atractylodes by YB07, and bifidobacterial, which displayed the moisture residual rate of 46.36%, the hydroxyl radical scavenging rate of 83.95% and the tyrosinase inhibition rate of 60.3%. Proteomic analysis by LC-MS showed that this broth contained 99 active peptides (＜1000 Da) in skin lotion. 24h skin patch and 30-day skin safety test preliminarily revealed the safety of the fermentation broth as a skin care product. This study provides a new perspective on food homologous traditional Chinese medicine for skin care products.

Debaryomyces hansenii has the potential to enhance the flavor profile of traditional fermented meat products. This study investigates the impact of the D. hansenii LY090 strain on the microbial community, lipidome, flavor profiles, and sensory properties of Sichuan bacon. Inoculation with LY090 significantly inhibited the relative abundance of other yeasts, except for Debaryomyces, and altered bacterial community composition. The presence of LY090 led to a notable reduction (p < 0.05) in the levels of ceramide and phosphatidylcholine, resulting in an excessive inhibition of lipid degradation. This further affected the development of flavor and color in Sichuan bacon. However, the concentrations of aldehydes (249.80 μg/kg), ethyl 3-methylbutyrate (81.01 μg/kg), and acetoin (223.91 μg/kg) were all found to be abundant, and the bacon achieved the highest overall acceptance scores when inoculated with both LY090 and commercial starter culture FAST301. Correlation analysis indicated that the differential metabolites exhibited a stronger association with the yeast community, which plays a vital role in the flavor development of Sichuan bacon. These detailed investigations provide meaningful implications for D. hansenii LY090 implementation strategies in the Sichuan bacon industry.