Characterization of microbial diversity and important off-odor compounds in fermented Ma bamboo shoots (Dendrocalamus latiflorus Munro)

Ma bamboo shoots (Dendrocalamus latiflorus Munro) are widely distributed in southern China and play an important role as a valuable natural resource. However, the inherent odor produced during fermentation is not accepted by most consumers, which limits the use of fermented Ma bamboo shoots as popular foods. Therefore, reducing the inherent odor of fermented Ma bamboo shoots is still a bottleneck problem in processing. In general, indigenous microorganisms play an important role in the formation of volatile compounds in various fermented products. Therefore, the change of microbial diversity in Ma bamboo shoots during fermentation was studied to establish the relationship between microbial diversity and fermentation odor formation. The results showed that the abundance of Lactobacillus, Weissella, and Lactococcus increased significantly during fermentation. Five significantly different volatile compounds were detected. Among them, two highly regulated VOCs, methylpyrazine and p-cresol, were identified as the major odor components. In general, lactic acid bacteria showed increased abundance and were the possible producer of off-odors. These results will provide new ideas and strategies for the removal or attenuation of off-odors by microbiological methods.