# Characterization of aroma profile and microbial community of cigar tobacco leaves from different aging periods and varieties and their correlations analysis

## TL;DR

This study examines how the aroma and microbial makeup of cigar tobacco leaves change over time and across different varieties in Hainan, China.

## Contribution

The paper provides new insights into the correlation between microbial communities and aroma compounds in aged cigar tobacco leaves.

## Key findings

- Aroma constituents in cigar tobacco leaves initially increased and then decreased with aging.
- Microbial communities like Staphylococcus and Aspergillus showed distinct abundance patterns over time.
- Variety GY4 had the highest levels of total aroma constituents and nitrogen heterocycles.

## Abstract

In this study, the CTLs from Hainan, China, were used, the aroma profiles of CTLs from five years (2017–2021) and three varieties [Hainan2 (HN2), Jianheng3 (JH3), and Guyin4 (GY4)] were analyzed, and the microbial communities of these CTLs and the relation with aroma constituents were explored. Results revealed the contents of total aroma constituents (3.55–7.67 mg/kg), esters (47.4–824 μg/kg), alcohols (123–561 μg/kg), aldehydes (51.4–97.1 μg/kg), and nitrogen heterocycles (1.86–4.25 mg/kg), firstly increased and subsequently declined with the increase of years, whereas ketones (1.07–3.56 mg/kg) exhibited an inverse trend. Among the different varieties, the highest aldehyde (142 μg/kg) content was observed in JH3, while the highest total aroma constituents, acids, ketones, and nitrogen heterocycles were found in GY4, reaching 10.5, 0.604, 1.86, 6.43 mg/kg, respectively. Furthermore, the bacterial communities of CTLs from different years exhibited discernible succession with increasing years. The abundances of Staphylococcus (3.03–47.5%) and Sphingomonas (1.18–10.2%) first increased and then decreased, whereas Pseudomonas (1.63–11.5%), Ralstonia (0.669–20.2%), and Pantoea (6.07–10.5%) exhibited the opposite trend, and Aspergillus and Cladosporium with total abundances of 90.2–94.2% were predominant in all years. The dominant bacteria and fungi of CTLs from different varieties were identified as Staphylococcus (15.0–81.1%) and Aspergillus (45.6–85.0%), respectively. However, the dominant microbial abundances in JH3 were significantly lower than those in HN2 and GY4, while other microorganism abundances were increased. Partial least square-regression analysis demonstrated that Paracoccus, Staphylococcus, Aerococcus, Pantoea, Methylobacterium-Methylorubrum, and Bacillus of CTLs from different years were associated with aroma constituents.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40643-025-00906-4.