CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Sourdough of alternative flours such as chia may offer outstanding nutritional and functional benefits to human health. The aim of this work was the isolation of autochthonous lactic acid bacteria from fermented chia (Salvia hispanica L.) dough and the characterization in terms of rheological properties, phenolic composition and antioxidant activity of a chia sourdough prepared with the selected strain. Finally the effect of sourdough addition on overall properties of wheat breads was evaluated. The strain called C8 was selected on the basis of its acidification and proteolytic activity and was further identified as Lactobacillus (L.) plantarum C8. After 24 h of fermentation, chia sourdough reached a final pH of 4.3 associated with the production of lactic, acetic and phenyl lactic acids. Rheological analysis showed that fermentation decreased consistency and increased the viscosity of chia dough. Phenolic compounds (PC) content and antioxidant activity increased 28 and 36.5 %, respectively compared to unfermented chia dough. PC composition was widely modified; chlorogenic acid was only evidenced in fermented dough while ferulic acid was detected from the beginning, being 32 % higher after 24 h of fermentation by L.plantarum C8. The use of fermented chia dough improved physical properties of white bread i.e. 47% less hardness and chewiness of the crumb. Besides, sourdough incorporation increased 1.8 timesthe phenolic content and 1.3 times the antioxidant activity regarding to breads made with unfermented chia flour and 7 times with respect to traditional white breads. To our knowledge this work shows for first time, that lactic acid bacterium is able to ferment chia dough improving its overall characteristics with potential application in functional food industry.