Insight into the role of lactic acid bacteria in the development of a novel fermented pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) beverage

DI RENZO T.; OSIMANI A.; MARULO S.; CARDINALI F.; MAMONE G.; PUPPO C.; GARZÓN A.; DRAGO S.; LAURINO C.; REALE A.

Food Bioscience

Elsevier

Lugar: London; Año: 2023 vol. 53 p. 1 - 10

2212-4292

This study aimed to assess the fermentability of a pistachio-based beverage. The effects of lactic acid fermentation on the odor profile and the stability of the beverage were also assessed. To this end, a procedure forobtaining a pistachio beverage was developed, and the nutritional composition of the beverage was obtained.The beverage was characterized by a high content of fiber (2.9%), fat (4.6%), and protein (2%), and containedhigh amounts of K and Mg. For the experiment, 43 cultures of the following lactic acid bacteria were used:Companilactibacillus paralimentarius, Companilactibacillus kimchi, Levilactibacillus brevis, Lactiplantibacillu pentosus,Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, Lactiplantibacillus paraplantarum, Latilactobacillus curvatus, Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides,and Furfurilactobacillus rossiae. The cultures were evaluated for the following technological characteristics:i) growth and acidifying activity, ii) production of exopolysaccharides; iii) presence of histidinedecarboxylase (hdcA) gene; iv) antimicrobial activity against Listeria innocua. The cultures were used in modelpistachio-based fermentations to assess their ability to grow and acidify. The odor profile of the beverage after24 h fermentation was assessed using an electronic nose system (E-nose). The pistachio-based beverage resultedan optimal substrate for lactic acid bacteria that reached loads between 8 and 10 log CFU/mL and acidified thebeverage to pH values between 4 and 5.5. In the beverage, viable counts of all cultures remained above 8 logCFU/mL after 30 days of storage at 4 ◦C. The E-nose analysis represented a valid screening method to evaluatethe effects of the fermentative activity of microbial starters on the qualitative characteristics of this novel foodmatrix.