Abstract
Aiming at meeting consumers’ requirements for healthy foods, dietary needs (vegetarianism, lactose- and gluten-free), as well as the nutrition recommendations of the Health Authorities in terms of protein, fibers and bioactive compounds, the present study proposes a novel yogurt-style snack made with plant-derived ingredients. The biotechnological protocol includes the fermentation of a thermal-treated blend of cereal and legume flours by the selected lactic acid bacteria (LAB) Lactoplantibacillus plantarum DSM33326 and Levilactobacillus brevis DSM33325. The yogurt-style snack was characterized by protein and fiber concentration of 3 and 4%, respectively, and a low-fat content. Compared to the unfermented control, the yogurt-style snack was characterized by a significant higher concentration of free amino acids and lower contents of the antinutritional factors, i.e., phytic acid, condensed tannins, saponins and raffinose (up to 90%) mainly due to the LAB metabolic activity. Hence, an in-vitro protein digestibility of 79% and improvements of all the nutritional indexes related to the quality of the protein fraction (e.g., GABA) were achieved at the end of fermentation. According to the Harvard Medical School recommendations, the novel snack can be potentially classified as low-glycemic index food (53%). Antioxidant properties of the fermented snack were also improved by means of increased the total phenol content and radical scavenging activity. High survival rate of the starter LAB and a commercial probiotic (added to the snack) was found through 30 days storage under refrigerated conditions. The biotechnological protocol to make the novel snack here proposed is suitable for the large-scale application in food industry, giving a platform product with a peculiar and appreciated sensory profile.
Highlights
The concept of functional food perfectly meets the current consumer awareness regarding the correlation between diet and well-being; the healthiness is one of the main factors driving the consumer food choices (Granato et al, 2010)
titratable acidity (TTA) increased as results of the fermentation, value of 4 ml NaOH 0.1 M higher than cYS were found in yogurt-style snack (YS)
The fermentation led to an increase of the apparent viscosity which was circa 14% higher than in cYS
Summary
The concept of functional food perfectly meets the current consumer awareness regarding the correlation between diet and well-being; the healthiness is one of the main factors driving the consumer food choices (Granato et al, 2010). In this framework, research is investing in the development of novel foods which have a positive effect on the human organism through the modulation of a specific physiological function (Gobbetti et al, 2010). Yogurt and fermented milks are the functional foods mainly requested by consumers, there is a growing demand for beverages with a yogurt-like formulation, but not milkbased, defined as "yogurt-like drinks". Cereals are a good source of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals and fibers (Blandino et al, 2003) and may determine excellent rheological properties (following a starch gelatinization process) when used as a basic ingredient yogurt-like products (Blandino et al, 2003; Coda et al, 2012)
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