Indigenous Palm Wine Yeasts as Novel Starter Cultures for Mead Production: A Critical Review of Honey Must Chemistry, Fermentation Biotechnology and Yeast Physiology

¹Okogu Sabinus Chukwuka, ¹Aniaku Vincent N., ¹Anichukwu Nwankwo Onyinye and ²Ada Ikeyi A.P.

¹Department of Applied Microbiology and Brewing, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu Nigeria

²Department of Biochemistry Institute of Management and Technology, IMT, Enugu, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Mead, an alcoholic beverage produced through the fermentation of diluted honey, represents one of the oldest fermented beverages known to humankind. Despite renewed commercial interest driven by the global expansion of the craft beverage industry, large-scale mead production remains constrained by the intrinsic physicochemical characteristics of honey must, including low yeast assimilable nitrogen, nutritional imbalance, high osmotic pressure and inconsistent fermentation performance. Recent advances in food biotechnology have identified indigenous yeasts isolated from traditional fermented beverages, particularly palm wine, as promising alternatives to conventional commercial starter cultures because of their unique physiological adaptations, stress tolerance and capacity to generate distinctive sensory characteristics. This review critically synthesises current knowledge regarding fermentation biotechnology, honey chemistry, yeast physiology and palm wine microbial ecology to evaluate the suitability of indigenous palm wine yeasts for mead production. Particular emphasis is placed on the biochemical composition of honey must, fermentation kinetics, nutrient supplementation, osmotic stress management and environmental factors influencing ethanol production. The complementary roles of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and non-Saccharomyces yeasts in improving fermentation efficiency, flavour complexity and product quality are critically discussed. Furthermore, emerging developments in microbial genomics, adaptive evolution and precision fermentation are examined as tools for improving indigenous yeast performance. Collectively, the available evidence indicates that indigenous palm wine yeasts constitute an underutilised microbial resource capable of improving fermentation efficiency, enhancing regional product identity and promoting sustainable beverage biotechnology. Future investigations integrating genomics, metabolomics and industrial-scale validation are required to facilitate their commercial application in premium mead production.

Keywords: Mead; Honey must; Indigenous yeast; Palm wine; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Non-Saccharomyces; Alcoholic fermentation; Food biotechnology.

CITE AS: Okogu Sabinus Chukwuka, Aniaku Vincent N., Anichukwu Nwankwo Onyinye and Ada Ikeyi A.P. (2026). Indigenous Palm Wine Yeasts as Novel Starter Cultures for Mead Production: A Critical Review of Honey Must Chemistry, Fermentation Biotechnology and Yeast Physiology. NEWPORT INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN MEDICAL SCIENCES, 7(3):1-16 https://doi.org/10.59298/NIJRMS/2026/7.3.116