Ester formation by a yeast hansenula mrakii ifo 0895: Contribution of esterase for iso-amyl acetate production in sake brewing

Abstract

Hansenula yeasts are known to be producers of esters. Among the Hansenula genera, H. mrakii IFO 0895 was highly resistant to ethyl acetate. The yeast could use ethyl acetate as a sole source of carbon. Iso-amyl acetate is one of the fruit flavor esters of sake (Japanese rice wine) and the production of the ester by H. mrakii was investigated using a small scale-sake brewing system. H. mrakii produced comparable amount of iso-amyl acetate with an industrially used sake brewing yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae Kyokai No. 7. Esterases are believed to be involved in the production of esters by H. mrakii. © 1994 Academic Press.