Effects of Lactobacillus fermentum fermentation of Quinoa milk on its phytochemistry and health benefits.

Abstract

Quinoa, a pseudocereal containing essential amino acids has been appraised as a functional food, however, with relatively scarce scientific studies focused on the isolation of bioactives from it. In this study, Lactobacillus fermentum was optimally selected for the fermentation of quinoa milk to induce proteolysis of its concomitant proteins for the synthesis of peptides and improve its overall phytochemical profile. The protein hydrolysates were further fractionated by ultrafiltration and their antidiabetic potentials examined and the antioxidative potential of the quinoa milk was also monitored in the course of the fermentation. Results obtained showed that after 9 days of controlled fermentation at 37 °C, there was observable antidiabetic potentials of obtained quinoa protein hydrolysates, with the 5 kDa fraction showing an α-amylase inhibition of 87.11 %, and the <5 kDa fraction with 73.97 %. There was remarkable increase in the antioxidant profile as tested by the DPPH scavenging potential from 22.29 % to 88.2 %; a trend associated with the increase in polyphenolic contents as confirmed by FTIR analysis. GC-MS showed the fermentative removal of antinutritional factors binding to different bioactive components. This study has shown the possibility of a cost-effective methodology for the isolation of bioactive peptides from a pseudocereal and the multiple enhancement of the biofunctional profile of the grain.