ABSTRACT: Abstract Pyracantha fortuneana, as a kind of wild plant resource for both medicine and food, has high nutrition and health‐care value. This study was to explore the effect of the joint fermentation of pyracantha powder and glutinous rice on the physicochemical and functional characterization of rice wine, aiming to improve the rice wine functional quality. As a result, a light dry rice wine fermented with P. fortuneana (PRW) was obtained using the fermentation technology of the Chinese rice wine. Although the contents of alcohol and protein in PRW were lower compared with the rice wine (RW) without adding pyracantha powder, the contents of sugar, ascorbic acid, total phenols, total flavonoids, and anthocyanins were higher in PRW. The analysis of volatile compounds by GC‐IMS showed that the contents of most aldehydes, alcohols, and esters increased in PRW. The quantification of organic acids and phenolic monomers indicated that most of the monomers determined were more abundant in PRW. Besides, the antioxidant capacity of PRW, including the scavenging rate of DPPH• and ABTS+•, was significantly stronger than that of RW. The bacteriostatic effect of the phenolic extracts from PRW was also observed obviously. It was expected to provide an effective way for the comprehensive utilization of P. fortuneana resource by producing a kind of nutritious and healthy pyracantha rice wine. By evaluating physicochemical properties, sensory evaluation, antioxidant, and bacteriostatic capacity and chemical compositions of pyracantha rice wine (PRW) and rice wine (RW), it was demonstrated that it was feasible to ferment glutinous rice jointly with the dry powder of pyracantha fruit to produce PRW, which gave rice wine new typicality from sense and function. Although the alcohol content of PRW was lower compared with RW, PRW was superior to RW in terms of the contents of total phenols, total flavonoids and anthocyanins, the compositions and relative amounts of volatile compounds, further the antioxidant and bacteriostatic effects.
