Changes in key aroma compounds and esterase activity of Monascus-fermented cheese across a 30-Day ripening period
Open accessAbstract
Monascus-fermented cheese (MC) is a new type of mold-ripened cheese that combines a traditional Chinese fermentation fungus, Monascus purpureus M1, with Western cheese fermentation techniques. In this study, the compositions of the volatile aroma compounds in MC were analyzed during a 30-day ripening period using SPME-Arrow and GC-O-MS. The activity of esterase in MC, which is a key enzyme catalyzing esterification reaction, was determined and compared with the control group (CC). Next, sensory analysis was conducted via quantitative descriptive analysis followed by Pearson correlation analysis between esterase activity and the key flavor compounds. A total of 76 compounds were detected. Thirty-three of these compounds could be smelled at the sniffing port and were identified as the key aroma compounds. The esterase activity in MC was found to be 1.24~1.33 times that of the CC. Moreover, the key odor features of ripened MC were alcohol and fruity flavors, considerably deviating from the sour and cheesy features found for the ripened CC. Furthermore, correlation analysis showed that esterase activity was strongly correlated (|r|> 0.75, p < 0.05) with various acids such as pentanoic and nonanoic acids and several aromatic esters, namely, octanoic acid ethyl ester and decanoic acid ethyl ester, revealing the key role that esterases play in developing the typical aroma of ripened MC.
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The overall volatile profile is consistent with previous observations in goat milk cheeses, where types of aroma compounds remain relatively stable but concentrations and proportions vary during ripening.
“This overall profile is consistent with previous observations in goat milk cheeses, where the types of aroma compounds remain relatively stable, but their concentrations and proportions vary during ripening (Zeng et al., 2022).”
From Impact of lactic acid bacteria coculture on the quality characteristics of goat cheese during ripening (2025) · cites this paper as Zeng et al., 2022
Section 3.1 reports that the relative odor activity values of acids and esters changed during ripening, supporting the claim that the volatile profile varies over time. It does not report observations in goat milk cheeses or establish that the types of aroma compounds remain relatively stable during ripening. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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Occurrence, Risk Implications, Prevention and Control of CIT in <i>Monascus</i> Cheese: A Review
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- Authors
- Zeng, H., Wang, Y., Han, H., Cao, Y., & Wang, B.
- Affiliations
- Beijing Technology and Business University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Wang, Bei
- Venue
- Foods
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2022-12-13
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 24
- Pages
- 4026
- ISSN
- 2304-8158 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC9778608
- OpenAlex
- W4311399684
- Cited by
- 36
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 5
- FWCI
- 3.59
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Foods (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (32072345, BTBUYXTD202205, QNJJ2022-04)
- Cultivation Project of Double First-Class Disciplines of Food Science and Engineering, Beijing Technology & Business University (32072345, BTBUYXTD202205, QNJJ2022-04)
- Young Teachers Scientific Research Start-up Fund of Beijing Technology and Business University (32072345, BTBUYXTD202205, QNJJ2022-04)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Fermentation and Sensory Analysis
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biotechnology › Microbial Metabolism and Applications
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Sensory Analysis and Statistical Methods
- Keywords
- Monascus purpureus, mould-ripened cheese, cheese ripening, volatile flavor compounds, esterase activity, esterification, sensory profile, ethyl esters, fatty acids
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