Polygonatum sibiricum, a traditional medicinal and edible plant, has attracted extensive attention due to its biological functions such as hypoglycemic, anti-inflammation, antioxidant, and gut microbiota regulatory effects. Studies have shown that the functional effects of P. sibiricum stem from its active components, mainly including polysaccharides, flavonoids, alkaloids, and saponins. Processing methods exert a significant impact on the components and biological activity of P. sibiricum. Traditional processing methods for this Chinese medicinal material include nine cycles of steaming and nine sun-drying, processing with honey, and steaming with rice wine. These methods suffer from several problems such as loss of active substances, introduction of impurities, long processing time, and high cost. Therefore, efficient and green fermentation methods are of great significance for improving the utilization of functional components and enhancing the biological activity of P. sibiricum. Microbial fermentation technology, as a biotechnology with both traditional and modern characteristics, can change the composition of P. sibiricum, generate new active substances, and break down the cell wall barrier through enzymatic action, effectively releasing and transforming functional components (such as polysaccharides and saponins), thereby achieving multiple advantages such as increased solubility, enhanced efficacy, detoxification, and improved flavor and significantly enhancing the bioavailability and health benefits of P. sibiricum. In recent years, studies on the effects of microbial fermentation on active components and functions of P. sibiricum have been widely reported, but a systematic review of these studies is still lacking. Therefore, this article systematically reviews recent progress in microbial fermentation of P. sibiricum from the aspects of process parameter optimization, effects on functional components, and changes in biological activities, providing a theoretical basis for improving the fermentation process of P. sibiricum and for the development of related functional foods.

To dissect the bacteriocin gene clusters of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum CHEN1, which has a significant inhibitory effect on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the whole genome of CHEN1 was sequenced using PacBio RS and Illumina platforms. antiSMASH and BAGEL4 were used to predict bacteriocin gene clusters and explore their potential action mechanisms. The whole genome sequencing results revealed that the genome of L. plantarum CHEN1 was 3330435 bp in size, with a GC content of 44.34%, including one chromosome sequence and eight plasmids. It contained 3196 protein-coding genes, with 704, 2317 and 2775 genes being annotated in the Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Cluster of Orthologous Groups of proteins (COG) databases, respectively. The genome sequencing data were submitted to NCBI under GenBank accession number PRJNA1014938. Three bacteriocinrelated gene clusters, T3PKS, RiPPs and Class IIb bacteriocins, were predicted by antiSMASH and BAGEL4, meeting the prerequisites for bacteriocin expression. This study provides a bioinformatic foundation for the development and application of CHEN1 and its MRSA-inhibiting bacteriocin.