Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41991610›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2026

Microbial diversity and production of milk spirit using traditional Buryat fermentation and distillation technologies.

Zorigto Namsaraev, Bair Nanzatov, Aleksandra Kozlova, Darima Barkhutova, Anna Izotova, Anna Vlaskina, Dmitry Petrenko, Andrey Kamaev, Svetlana Lukashevich, Viktor Pozhidaev and 8 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

18 authors.

Zorigto NamsaraevNRC "Kurchatov Institute", Moscow, Russia. zorigto@gmail.com.
Bair NanzatovInstitute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ulan-Ude, Russia.
Aleksandra KozlovaInternational Laboratory of Bioinformatics, HSE University, Moscow, Russia.
Darima BarkhutovaInstitute of General and Experimental Biology, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ulan-Ude, Russia.
Anna IzotovaNRC "Kurchatov Institute", Moscow, Russia.
Anna VlaskinaNRC "Kurchatov Institute", Moscow, Russia.
Dmitry PetrenkoNRC "Kurchatov Institute", Moscow, Russia.
Andrey KamaevNRC "Kurchatov Institute", Moscow, Russia.
Svetlana LukashevichNRC "Kurchatov Institute", Moscow, Russia.
Viktor PozhidaevNRC "Kurchatov Institute", Moscow, Russia.
Alla FilimonovaNRC "Kurchatov Institute", Moscow, Russia.
Dulma TsyrenovaInstitute of General and Experimental Biology, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ulan-Ude, Russia.
Vyacheslav DambaevInstitute of General and Experimental Biology, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ulan-Ude, Russia.
Valeriia NovikovaSirius University of Science and Technology, Sirius Federal Territory, Sirius, Russia.
Aleksei RozanovSirius University of Science and Technology, Sirius Federal Territory, Sirius, Russia.
Alexey SazonovSirius University of Science and Technology, Sirius Federal Territory, Sirius, Russia.
Maksim PatrushevNRC "Kurchatov Institute", Moscow, Russia.
Stepan ToshchakovNRC "Kurchatov Institute", Moscow, Russia.

Funding

Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies SB RAS № 126020616724-3
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Distilled fermented milk beverages are rare in food technology, despite the global prevalence of plant-based spirits. Currently, the production of distilled strong alcoholic beverages from fermented milk using traditional technologies is known only among Mongolic-speaking peoples and their Siberian neighbors. This study provides the first interdisciplinary analysis of darasun, a traditional Buryat spirit made from fermented milk beverage khurenge in Southern Siberia. Archival research shows deep historical roots of darasun dating back to the 13th-14th centuries in the period of the Mongol Empire. Low content of fermentable carbohydrates in milk limits the maximum ethanol concentration in the fermented product, which reaches 1.5-2.1%. To increase the beverage's strength, a traditional multi-stage distillation is used, allowing sequential increases in ethanol concentration to 11%, 40%, and 75%. ITS and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis identified diverse microbial community in khurenge dominated by representatives of Lactobacillus genus among lactic acid bacteria and Trichosporon or Monosporozyma genera among yeasts. Comparison of home-produced and industrially produced khurenge revealed that pasteurization significantly affects microbial composition with non-pasteurized khurenge showing greater microbial diversity and lower ethanol content than pasteurized. Functional analysis showed that pathway composition differed significantly between samples suggesting that final ethanol concentration in fermented milk reflects the balance between competing fermentation and respiration pathways. This study demonstrates that Buryat milk fermentation and distillation represents a unique biotechnological system that exemplifies decentralized, low-input, circular bioeconomy principles adapted to pastoral settings, providing a contrast to industrial whey-to-ethanol processes and contributing to the preservation of endangered cultural heritage.

Indexed as

Alcoholic BeveragesCultured Milk ProductsDistillationFermentationMilkAnimalsBiodiversityEthanolFood MicrobiologyRNA, Ribosomal, 16SSiberiaEthanolRNA, Ribosomal, 16SAlcoholic distillatesBuryatDarasunKhurengeMilk fermentationMongolic peoples

Identifiers

PMID41991610
PMCPMC13247081

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.