Sumerta, I. N.; Ruan, X.; Howell, K.

Palm wine is an alcoholic beverage that has existed for centuries and has important economic and socio-culture values in many tropical and sub-tropical countries. Palm wine is made by spontaneous fermentation of palm sap by naturally occurring microbial communities, which determine product quality. Defining the core microbial communities driving the fermentation process is pivotal for the distinctive of palm wine characteristics; however, it is also challenging due to micro and macro-ecological factors, which contribute to geographic specificity. A dynamic consortium of microbial species occupies every stage of palm wine fermentation and consequently releasing metabolites to trigger growth of other associated species. Studies have been conducted to investigate palm wine composition and microbial diversity but these studies and have not been extrapolated to understand the function of microbial communities and metabolite diversity. In this review, we gather information of microbial communities and metabolite profiles from 47 published studies, covering a wide range of methodologies and regions to better understand the causal links between the principal microbial species and the metabolites of palm wine. We address palm wine quality across production regions to provide specific regional information to elevate our knowledge of this fermented beverage. This understanding will help to manage the causal effects of palm wine fermentation and define the regional signature of palm wine to help with the challenge of ensuring product quality in this unique, yet overlooked, fermented beverage.