Dados do Trabalho

Título

PLANT-BASED BEVERAGES FERMENTED BY DIFFERENT PROBIOTIC MICROORGANISMS

Introdução

The fermentation of plant-based matrices using probiotic bacteria has attracted the attention of industries looking for products with high nutritional value to be carriers of functional compounds. Hibiscus tea and soymilk have high bioactivity. However, their joint use as a substrate for the growth of probiotic bacteria needs to be investigated. This study aimed to develop a plant-based beverages composed of hibiscus tea and soymilk, evaluating the growth capacity of different probiotic strains.

Material e Métodos

Beverages containing 68% hibiscus tea, 30% soymilk, and 2% glucose were fermented with Lactobacillus paracasei BGP1 (LP), Lactobacillus rhamnosus LRB) (LR), and Lactobacillus casei BGP3 (LC) at 37 °C for 12 h. The pH, acidity, viscosity, color, probiotic count, total phenolic content, anthocyanin content, and antioxidant activity were evaluated using the ABTS, DPPH, and FRAP methods. In parallel, a control assay (C) was carried out without adding probiotics.

Resultados e Discussão

The physical-chemical characteristics of the beverages differed (p<0.05), with the LP beverage showing higher lactic acid production (0.37%), lower pH (4.01), higher viscosity (15.5 mPa/S) and color (L*: 26.3; a*: 1.6 and b*: 4.9). The highest probiotic count was observed in the LP beverage (9.3 log CFU/mL), followed by the LR and LC beverages (9.0 and 8.4 log CFU/mL, respectively). The total phenolic content did not differ between the samples. However, the control beverage had a higher level of monomeric anthocyanins (43.1 mg dp 3-sam/L), and the LP beverage had a lower level (8.6 mg dp 3-sam/L). The antioxidant activity quantified by the DPPH method did not vary (p>0.05) between samples. Beverage C showed higher antioxidant activity using the ABTS method (1.4 mm ET/L), and LC showed lower antioxidant activity using the FRAP method (1.25 mm ET/L).

Conclusão

The probiotic Lactobacillus paracasei showed better development in the plant-based beverage made from hibiscus tea and soymilk. However, the effect of its growth on the reduction of anthocyanins and compounds with antioxidant activity needs to be further investigated.