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The purpose of this paper is to outline the present status of various fermented foods and beverages across the globe and reviews on the microbiology and therapeutic effects of fermented foods.

Fermented foods play an important socio-economic role in developing countries as well as making a major contribution to the nutrition requirements of natural populations. These foods have attracted attention all over the world as foods that might promote longevity. The approach is based on observations of online research with respect to fermented foods and their origins, analysis of research papers in journals and systematic research on the microbiology and health benefits of fermented products.

In general, traditional fermented foods produced with indigenous practices throughout the world are made under primitive conditions, which result in low yield and poor quality. But since, these foods are not only traditional but also functional foods. They are experiencing a burst of popularity as health foods worldwide. The raw materials traditionally used for fermentation are as diverse as: fruits, cereals, vegetables, milk, meat, and fish. It is possible to obtain a large variety of different food products by selecting different raw materials, starter cultures, and fermentation conditions.

The paper offers a holistic view that would guide a reader to identify various fermented products and enlighten them about their therapeutic properties.

The purpose of this study was to assess the bacterial viability, antioxidative activity, antimutagenicity and sensory evaluation of fermented onion types by using probiotic starters after fermentation at 37 °C for 24 hours and storage in the refrigerator for 28 days.

For onion fermentation, Lactobacillus acidophilus (LA-5), Bifidobacterium bifidum (BB-12), and Streptococcus thermophilus (ST) were utilised. This research was conducted on three types of onion: white onion, red onion and scallion. With a 5% brine solution, the onions were sliced into 3-5 cm long and 1-2 cm wide slices. The process of fermentation was achieved by adding 2% (10⁸ CFU/ gm) of fresh probiotic starter and incubating it for 24 hours at 37 °C. The fermented onion samples were kept in the refrigerator for 28 days. After fermentation and storage, the pH and total acidity were estimated, the vitality of probiotic bacteria was evaluated in samples of the onion species. The Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique was used to identify the bioactive components in fermented onion types. The antioxidant activity of fermented onions was measured using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH) radical scavenging activity assay and the hydroxyl radical scavenging activity test. The Ames test was used to detect the antimutagenicity of fermented onion samples.

After fermentation, the fermented scallion (p = 0.036) has the highest vitality of all the starter bacteria species. The fermentation of onion types produced a pH of between 4.1–4.7 and 0.19–0.23% total acidity, which is in the range of reduced 3.1–3.5 pH values and 0.42–0.63% total acidity after 28 days. The viability of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum in fermented scallions was Log. 7.79 and 7.57 CFU/gm. The GC-MS technique found 14 bioactive compounds in fermented white onions and 13 compounds in fermented white onions, with 15 compounds in scallion fermentation. The majority of these bioactive compounds are strong antioxidants. The antioxidant properties of fermented scallion significantly increased after 28 days of storage time, showing an inhibitory effect on the DPPH assay (p = 0.02) and the scavenging activity of the hydroxyl radical assay (p = 0.01). Sensory evaluation tests revealed that the fermented scallion was a suitable product in terms of appearance, aroma and overall acceptability.

Commercially accessible probiotic foods account for a sizable portion of the consumer market. Furthermore, as consumer interest in healthy eating grows, so does demand for plant-based goods. All onion types fermented with probiotic bacteria have many chemical compounds that have both antioxidant and carcinogenic activity. The fermented scallion onion sample was significantly superior to the rest of the other types of onions.

Roasted coffee provides a complex blend of different flavours which produce a range of sensory qualities. With the development of protocols for the production of fresh juices, jams and marmalades from cocoa and cashew pulp juices at Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana, this paper aims to study the effects of roasted coffee powder on fermented cocoa and cashew juices to diversify the uses of these two juices.

Cocoa and cashew juices were fermented with the incorporation of 2% roasted coffee powder using Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast starter. The fermenting juices were monitored by measuring pH, temperature, specific gravity and titratable acidity. At the end of the fermentation, the juices were poured into clean, sterilized containers to mature. They were then analysed for their physicochemical, microbiological and sensory qualities. These were repeated with cocoa and cashew juices without coffee powder to determine the effects of the roasted coffee on the fermented juices.

The addition of roasted coffee powder to cocoa and cashew juices did not have any significant effect on the fermentation performance of the juices. Three out of the four juices took a total of 13 days to complete fermentation with an average final specific gravity of 0.99. The quality of the fermented juices was not compromised by microbial activities. However, the addition of roasted coffee powder reduced the alcohol content of fermented cocoa juice from 9.0 to 5.0% and that of cashew from 11.0% to 7.5%. Sensory analysis using untrained panellists, who were ordinary consumers, showed significant differences among the four fermented juices in terms of appearance, taste and aroma. Their mean scores for coffee aroma ranged from 0.3 to 2.0 with coffee incorporated fermented juices having higher rankings.

These findings have shown the possibility of processing cocoa and cashew juices, which under normal circumstances would have been discarded along their value chains, into coffee-flavoured wines. They are also important to cocoa, cashew and coffee farmers, processors, as well as wine enthusiasts.

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease that accounted for 6 per cent of total Indonesian deaths in 2016. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the ability of milk fermented using intestinal origin Lactobacillus casei strains to alleviate hyperglycemia in rats.

L. casei strains AP and AG were previously isolated and identified from feces of breastfed Indonesian infants (<1 month-old) and confirmed to be probiotics in vitro. These strains were used as bacterial starters to ferment milk, and the fermented product was fed to 25 diabetic rats for 15 days; metformin was used as a positive control. Blood glucose concentration, lipid profiles and total lactic acid bacteria counts were analyzed before and after treatment.

The results showed that feeding rats with milk fermented using L. casei strain AP decreased blood glucose concentration from 172.4 ± 2.1 to 147.2 ± 6.0 mg/dL (p < 0.05), whereas metformin reduced blood glucose concentration from 173.5 ± 6.5 to 124.2 ± 16.9 mg/dL (p < 0.05). Feeding milk fermented either L. casei AP or AG decreased low density lipoprotein but increased high density lipoprotein levels (p < 0.05).

This research finding is expected to increase the development of fermented dairy products as functional food, solutions for the prevention of hyperglycemia diseases which have a higher risk to occur on humans.

Further study is needed to examine the effect of L. casei AP-fermented milk on humans with hyperglycemia.

This research finding is expected to increase the development of fermented dairy products as functional food.

Oral administration of L. casei AP-fermented milk reduced hyperglycemia in rats similar to metformin. Further study is needed to examine the effect of L. casei AP-fermented milk on humans with hyperglycemia.

There is a need to improve stability of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and probiotics in fermented milks especially at elevated temperatures. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of yeast Williopsis saturnus var. saturnus on stability of LAB and probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus in fermented milks.

Fermented milks were made from reconstituted whole milk with different milk solids contents. The milk was fermented with L. rhamnosus DR20 with and without yoghurt cultures. The treatment had yeast added, whereas the control did not. Fermented milks were incubated at different temperatures and samples were taken regularly for microbial count determination.

The effect of the yeast on stability of L. bulgaricus and L. rhamnosus varied with temperatures: no effect at 4 and 40 ^○C, increasing effects from 10 to 30^○C with enhanced lactobacilli survival by 10² to 10⁷‐fold. The yeast enhanced L. bulgaricus and L. rhamnosus stability by approximately 10⁶ to 10⁷‐fold in fermented milks with 5 per cent w/v and 20 per cent w/v milk solids at 30 ^○C.

Use of live yeast has limitations. The yeast must not ferment lactose and galactose, and fermentable sugars cannot be used as sweeteners to avoid yeast growth. Further understanding of the interaction between yeast and LAB may eliminate the need to add viable yeast.

Use of yeast to enhance stability of LAB and probiotics is a novel concept. Addition of selected yeast could be an effective means of enhancing stability of LAB and probiotics in fermented milks to extend shelf‐life and to retain nutritional value.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate isoflavone aglycone concentrations in commercial soybean and soybean products in Taiwan.

Isoflavone concentration was determined by high performance liquid chromatography method. The samples included soybeans, non‐fermented (tofu, soymilk, soybean meal) and fermented (natto, miso and sufu) soybean products.

The total isoflavone concentration in soybean and soybean products was approximately 109‐508 mg/100 g. Isoflavone aglycones had the concentration of 2‐19 per cent of total isoflavones in soybeans and non‐fermented soybean products. There was a broad diversity of isoflavone aglycones at 4‐94 per cent of total isoflavones in fermented soybeans.

The study provides new information about distribution of bioactive isoflavone aglycones in soybean and soybean products. Isoflavone glucosides were the major components in all soybean and non‐fermented products, while isoflavone aglycones were abundant in sufu and partially in miso of soybean fermented products. The information should be used to establish that positive consumption of bioactive aglycones isoflavones may be more efficient for improving the physiological functions for human health.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the in vitro and in vivo effects of three varieties of Indonesian fermented rice bran (RB) (Inpari 6, Inpari 30 and Inpara 1).

Three types of RB were fermented using Rhizopus oligosporus. The total phenolic content (TPC) was determined using the Folin–Ciocalteau method, and antioxidant activity was analyzed by measuring the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging activity (RSA). For in vivo analyses, one week after acclimatization, stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (n = 4, 12 weeks of age) were divided into two groups and orally administered fermented RB (40 mg/kg body weight) or distilled water as a control after 16 h of fasting. Blood pressure (BP) was measured before and 2, 4 and 6 h after administration with a BP monitor without warming. Six days later, the rats were subject to the same procedure and sacrificed after 6 h of oral administration. Blood was collected and the plasma was separated to measure nitric oxide, glucose and insulin levels.

The highest TPC and RSA of fermented RB were obtained from Inpari 30 after incubation for 72 h (260.33 ± 0.39 mg GAE/100 g dry basis and 83.71 ± 0.61 per cent), respectively. Furthermore, single oral administration of fermented RB improved BP (p < 0.05) and glucose metabolism after 6 h of administration (p < 0.05).

This is the first study to evaluate the effects of fermented RB on improving high BP and glucose profiles by using a spontaneously hypertensive animal model.

This paper aims to study the effect of addition of green banana flour (GBF) in skim milk, provides a nutritional and functional contribution to this matrix when added. They have biological compounds like resistant starch, phenolic compounds, antioxidant compounds and others. The skim milk containing 1.08 per cent of GBF was chosen after a central composite rotational design and response surface methodology. The response variable was the growth of Lactobacillus plantarum (LP) and Lactobacillus helveticus (LH).

During the fermentation process, the antioxidant activity, plasmid DNA protection capacity, proteolytic activity and inhibitory activity of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) of the fermented milk was determined.

All variables were influenced by the fermentation time. The antioxidant activity evaluated by the ABTS radical presented values of 0.83 ± 0.04 µM Trolox.mL−1 and 0.79 ± 0.02 µM Trolox.mL−1, respectively, for the fermented LP and LH. The extracts fermented by L. plantarum and L. helveticus were able to inhibit the oxidation of plasmidial DNA. The proteolytic activity was higher in the fermented with LH (1.16 ± 0.03) than in the fermented with LP (0.71 ± 0.02). The ACE inhibitory activity was higher in the fermented LH (59.01 per cent) than in the fermented LP (54.45 per cent).

Fermented milk with 1.08 per cent GBF presented positive results in the analyzed variables and could be studied commercially as a functional food alternative.

The Indian diet is rich in all the essential nutrients required for the well-being of human life. Probiotics have always been part of our traditional diet but microbiota of traditional fermented foods has not been explored. This study aims to analyse various traditional Indian fermented products for their probiotic nature.

Fermented indigenous products such as kanji, vegetable pickles and curd were prepared under controlled conditions and stored at ambient temperatures for shelf life studies. During the shelf life study, pH, titratable acidity and Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) count were estimated.

LAB counts ranged between 106 and 108 cfu/g in all the products, reflective of the probiotic nature of the products. Growth was observed even at low pH of 2.77 in product such as lemon chilli and ginger pickle. The 16S RNA-based sequencing technique was used for the identification of probiotic organisms present in the product. Enterococcus lactis, enterococcus durans, bacillus subtilis and lactobacillus plantarum were detected in the products.

These observations emphasise the need to undertake in-depth analysis of the viability of LAB in these fermented Indian foods for improving their nutritional properties. A need exists to explore and popularise more indigenous fermented products as probiotics.

India has a very rich and diverse food culture which differs from one region to other. This is because of difference in climatic conditions which has led to variety of food products. There are many products prepared locally and are not studied scientifically. This study aimed to explore these products for the presence of LAB which could have a probiotic potential.

This study aims to evaluate the effect of cell immobilization on bioactive property of lactobacilli‐fermented soymilk.

Agrowastes from durian (Durio zibethinus), cempedak (Artocarpus champeden), and mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) were used as immobilizers for lactobacilli (Lactobacillus acidophilus FTDC 1331, L. acidophilus FTDC 2631, L. acidophilus FTDC 2333, L. acidophilus FTDC 1733, and L. bulgaricus FTCC 0411) in soymilk fermentation. Fermented soymilk was stored at different temperatures (4°C, 25°C and 37°C) for 168 h and sampled for analyses periodically.

Scanning electron micrographs showed that cells of lactobacilli were immobilized onto the matrix of agrowastes powder. The proteolytic activity was higher in soymilk supplemented with immobilized lactobacilli at 37°C and 25°C compared to that at 4°C. Soymilk fermented by cells immobilized on cempedak rind powder showed higher proteolytic activity (p<0.0001), followed by durian and mangosteen rinds powder (p<0.001). The highest ACE inhibitory activity was also found in soymilk fermented by cells immobilized on cempedak rind powder for all temperatures studied (p<0.0001). In addition, ACE inhibitory activity was higher in soymilk fermented at 37°C, compared to 25°C and 4°C (p<0.0001).

The results in the paper show that cell immobilization enhances the bioactive property of fermented soymilk, in terms of proteolysis and in‐vitro ACE inhibitory activity.