Role of palm wine yeasts and bacteria in palm wine aroma

Sterile palm sap samples fermented by pure culture of individual palm wine yeasts and bacteria were analysed by Gas Chromatography, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry and sensory evaluation, to determine the role of these microorganisms in palm wine aroma. Palm wine volatiles and aroma were reproduced in yeast-fermented saps, while bacteria-fermented ones tended to retain the volatiles and odour of the unfermented sap. The results indicated that yeasts, especially the Saccharomyces, that produced the volatiles would be critical to palm wine odour. It was concluded that these organisms should, therefore, constitute important components of any standard inoculum for palm wine and its analogues.