Abstract: To explore the effect of Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation on the bioactivity of a water extract from Rosa ‘Crimson Glory’ petals, this study evaluated the differences in in vitro antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of the unfermented and fermented water extract. Additionally, non-targeted metabolomics combined with molecular docking technology was employed to identify potential bioactive compounds related to these functions. Results demonstrated that the fermentation significantly enhanced both the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacities of the extract. Metabolomic analysis identified 914 metabolites, among which 98 (67 up-regulated, 31 down-regulated) were selected as candidate biomarkers based on multivariate statistical analysis. To pinpoint the key contributors to the enhanced bioactivity, the up-regulated metabolites were docked to inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Among them, vaccinoside (−8.8 kcal/mol), 6-O-galloylsucrose (−7.3 kcal/mol), and tryptophol (−7.1 kcal/mol) exhibited the strongest binding affinities, suggesting their potential roles as iNOS inhibitors. These findings indicate that yeast fermentation enriches the water extract from rose with specific bioactive compounds, thereby augmenting its health benefits. This provides a scientific basis for developing targeted functional beverages.

Key words: Rosa ‘Crimson Glory’; fermentation; antioxidant activity; anti-inflammatory activity; metabolomics; bioactive compounds