Effect of Fermentation on Culturable Microbial Dominant Flora and Quality of Cigar Filler Tobacco Leaves

YANG Shaoxin; XU Delong; DAI Youzong; ZHENG Fang; WANG Shengxiao; YE Changwen; HE Yuan; YANG Liqiang; HAO Qidong; XU Meng; HUANG Kuo; HU Yanqi

doi:10.15933/j.cnki.1004-3268.2026.01.015

Abstract：To investigate the culturable dominant microorganisms in the fermentation process of cigar-core tobacco leaves and the effect of fermentation on quality,the tobacco leaves of Hainan in China(T1),Dominica(T2)and Yunnan in China(T3)three producing areas were used as the research objects,and the samples before fermentation were used as the control(CK1,CK2,CK3)to simulate industrial fermentation.Microorganisms were identified by traditional morphology and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry(MALDI-TOF MS).Conventional chemical components and neutral aroma components were analyzed by continuous flow method and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS),respectively.The results indicated that after fermentation,the dominant bacteria shifted to Bacillus and Staphylococcus,with a significant increase in their abundance;the dominant fungi were identified as Aspergillus.In terms of chemical composition,compared with control,the total sugar content of tobacco leaves from the three producing areas increased significantly,which were 155.0%,87.0%,and 101.0%,respectively.Total nitrogen content decreased by 6.0%,7.0%,and 15.6%,respectively,while chlorine content decreased by 14.0%,13.2%,and 37.3%,respectively.Total plant alkali content in T1 and T2 increased by 68.0%and 6.3%,respectively,while total plant alkali content in T3 decreased by 46.6%.In addition,the key aroma components such as geranylacetone,β-damascenone,phenylethyl alcohol,3-acetylpyridine and phytone were significantly increased.Sensory evaluation revealed that the quality of tobacco leaves was generally improved after fermentation,and the effect of T2 sample was the best.In summary,the succession of culturable dominant microorganisms during the fermentation of cigar-core tobacco leaves caused changes in their chemical composition and aroma components,and ultimately improved the sensory quality of tobacco leaves.