Next-generation non-Saccharomyces yeast derivatives: Fine tuning antioxidant capacity through inactivation process

Inactivated non-Saccharomyces yeasts offer a promising way to exploit their unique metabolic features, already valued in their active state for bioprotection or bioacidification in winemaking. Producing efficient yeast derivatives at industrial scale requires precise characterization, for which metabolomics provides a powerful analytical framework. This study investigates how biomass nutrition and inactivation by high-pressure or heat affected the composition and antioxidant capacity of derivatives prepared from three non-Saccharomyces strains. Although strain specificity remained the dominant factor for antioxidant capacity, non-thermal inactivation consistently improved score for all strains, with increases up to +57.7%. This enhancement was not linked to greater abundance or diversity of nucleophiles, as fewer than 10% were unique to high-pressure treatment, but rather to the preservation of thermolabile metabolites with redox activity. High-pressure inactivation also promoted the release of low-molecular-weight compounds potentially contributing to antioxidant function. Overall, metabolomics emerges as a valuable tool for guiding precision biotechnology in enology.