Yeasts as Producers of Flavor Precursors during Cocoa Bean Fermentation and Their Relevance as Starter Cultures: A Review

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Figure 2.

C is Aerobic, not anaerobic phase.

Author Response

Thank you for your comments- Your observations helped us to improve the quality of our manuscript. Below you will find a detailed response to each of your comments. Changes in the manuscript are written in red.

Reviewer #1:

Figure 2.C is Aerobic, not anaerobic phase. Done. Figure 2C was modified.

Reviewer 2 Report

Lines 22-24: Sentence not clear. they generate? (referring to yeast)..that are essential (if referred to esters)

Line 37: products instead of foods (to avoid the repetition of the word “food”)

Line 38: some of them (to avoid repetition of the words food/products)

Line 60: positively contribute

Line 74: the verb should be at the end of the sentence.

Line 76: these precursors (to avoid repetition of the word “such”)

Line 83: deriving from the environment instead of “inoculated” (this term should be used when MO are deliberately added)

Line 125: I would say “environmental temperature ranging from 25 to 35°C”

Lines 137 and 303: I would say “species” instead of strains

Line 193: destroying?

Lines 205-208: colon instead of semicolon

Line 227: I would say “The fresh cocoa pulp is favorable for yeasts growth since…”

Lines 266-268: sentence not clear, please rewrite

Line 275: table 1 (not 2)

Lines 340-342: same sentence is reported in lines 326-328.

Lines 367-368: the verb is missing

Line 384: remove “are”

Line 402: I would say “showed” instead of have had

I would suggest to make tables horizontal to facilitate comprehension.

Author Response

Thank you for your comments- Your observations helped us to improve the quality of our manuscript. Below you will find a detailed response to each of your comments. Changes in the manuscript are written in red.

Reviewer #2:

Lines 22-24: Sentence not clear. they generate? (referring to yeast)..that are essential (if referred to esters). Done. This paragraph has been modified to improve clarity. L 23-25

Line 37: products instead of foods (to avoid the repetition of the word “food”). Done- L 38

Line 38: some of them (to avoid repetition of the words food/products). Done. L 40

Line 60: positively contribute. Done. L 62

Line 74: the verb should be at the end of the sentence. Done. L 76-78

Line 76: these precursors (to avoid repetition of the word “such”). Done. L 78

Line 83: deriving from the environment instead of “inoculated” (this term should be used when MO are deliberately added). Done. L 85

Line 125: I would say “environmental temperature ranging from 25 to 35°C”. Done. L 126-127

Lines 137 and 303: I would say “species” instead of strains. Done. L 136 and 304

Line 193: destroying?. Done. This paragraph was modified. L 193-195

Lines 205-208: colon instead of semicolon. Done, L 207

Line 227: I would say “The fresh cocoa pulp is favorable for yeasts growth since…” Done. This paragraph was modified. L 228-229

Lines 266-268: sentence not clear, please rewrite. Done. This paragraph was modified. L 266-269

Line 275: table 1 (not 2). Done. L 276

Lines 340-342: same sentence is reported in lines 326-328. Done. Repeated sentence was removed

Lines 367-368: the verb is missing Done. L 367

Line 384: remove “are” Done. L 383

Line 402: I would say “showed” instead of have had. Done. L 401

I would suggest to make tables horizontal to facilitate comprehension.  The changes suggested in Table 2 were performed to improve comprehension.

Reviewer 3 Report

in line 44, correct the number of the bibliography 3;

in line 102, you say "five different methods ...." but you only list four methods;

in Figure 2C, correct "anaerobic phase" to "aerobic phase";

in line 310, correct the bibliography number 83;

Author Response

Thank you for your comments- Your observations helped us to improve the quality of our manuscript. Below you will find a detailed response to each of your comments. Changes in the manuscript are written in red.

Reviewer #3:

in line 44, correct the number of the bibliography 3; Done. L 46

in line 102, you say "five different methods ...." but you only list four methods; Done. L 104

in Figure 2C, correct "anaerobic phase" to "aerobic phase"; Done. Figure 2C was modified.

in line 310, correct the bibliography number 83; Done. L 311.