Vinegar: A potential source of healthy and functional food with special reference to sugarcane vinegar

Front Nutr. 2023 Mar 16:10:1145862. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1145862. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Vinegar is one of the most widely used acidic condiments. Recently, rapid advances have been made in the area of vinegar research. Different types of traditional vinegar are available around the globe and have many applications. Vinegar can be made either naturally, through alcoholic and then acetic acid fermentation, or artificially, in laboratories. Vinegar is the product of acetic acid fermentation of dilute alcoholic solutions, manufactured by a two-step process. The first step is the production of ethanol from a carbohydrate source such as glucose, which is carried out by yeasts. The second step is the oxidation of ethanol to acetic acid, which is carried out by acetic acid bacteria. Acetic acid bacteria are not only producers of certain foods and drinks, such as vinegar, but they can also spoil other products such as wine, beer, soft drinks, and fruits. Various renewable substrates are used for the efficient biological production of acetic acid, including agro and food, dairy, and kitchen wastes. Numerous reports on the health advantages associated with vinegar ingredients have been presented. Fresh sugarcane juice was fermented with wine yeast and LB acetate bacteria to develop a high-quality original sugarcane vinegar beverage. To facilitate the current study, the bibliometric analysis method was adopted to visualize the knowledge map of vinegar research based on literature data. The present review article will help scientists discern the dynamic era of vinegar research and highlight areas for future research.

Keywords: Saccharum spp.; VOCs; fatty acid; fermentation processes; health benefits; phytochemistry; production approaches; vinegar.

Publication types

  • Review

Grants and funding

This study received funding from the Guangxi Major Science and Technology Program (Grant no. GK-AA22117002), Xixiangtang Science and Technology Program of Nanning, Guangxi (Grant no. 2020032101), the Project of Guangxi Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Alliance (Grant no. GNKM202315), and Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences Basic Research Business Project (Grant no. GNK2021YT117).