The present study explored the influence of submerged fermentation with different lactic acid bacteria (LAB) as a pre-treatment of moringa leaves before the extraction of phenolic compounds via sonotrode. The sonotrode extraction was optimized using a Box-Behnken design and the optimal conditions found were: 25% ethanol, 5min and 100% amplitude. Folin-reacting substances and antioxidant activity were measured on hydroalcoholic extracts obtained from fermented moringa leaves and, individual phenolic compounds were determined by HPLC-ESI-TOF-MS for the first time. The findings revealed that P. acidilactici CECT 98 and La. plantarum CECT 9567 significantly increased phenolic acids levels (30.30% and 27.55%, respectively) and total flavonoids increased in the presence of P. acidilactici CECT 98, Leu. mesenteroides CECT 219T, and La. plantarum CECT 9567 (50.12, 10.68 and 10.22%, respectively). This approach increases the yield of health-promoting phytochemicals and demonstrates the potential for optimising the extraction processes in functional food development.
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