Influence of pre-fermentative treatment on the fatty acid content of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (M(3)30-9) during alcoholic fermentation of grape must.

The effect of skin maceration and must filtration on the growth and fermentative capacity of one strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was studied. Skin maceration increased the fatty acid concentration of the must, thus affecting the lipid composition of the yeast cell membranes. Sterile filtration resulted in a reduction of the fatty acid content of the must extracted during maceration, but increased the fatty acid content of the yeast membranes, thus increasing the fermentative capacity without affecting either growth or cell viability.