Abstract: The mining and application of functional microbes have become the focus of common concern to academia and industries in the field of brewing engineering. Of the articles regarding functional microbes in Jiuqu, a family of Chinese traditional fermentation starters for liquor and rice wine (including Daqu and Xiaoqu) that have been published over the past decade in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and the Web of Science databases, more than 400 articles are about Daqu, while only less than 50 articles are about Xiaoqu. This review first summarizes the definition, history and current application of Xiaoqu. It then reviews the current status of studies on the species, screening methods, functional components and application value of functional microbes in Xiaoqu. The metabolic mechanisms of major functional components in functional yeasts are specially discussed. The aim of this review is to provide a rationale for further research and industrial application of functional microbes in Xiaoqu.

Key words: yeast, mould, bacteria, higher alcohol, enzyme