Nutritional composition of non‐dairy yogurt from sprouted tigernut tubers

Understanding the nutritional benefits through plant proteins-probiotics interactions: mechanisms, challenges, and perspectives

The nutritional benefits of combining probiotics with plant proteins have sparked increasing research interest and drawn significant attention. The interactions between plant proteins and probiotics demonstrate substantial potential for enhancing the functionality of plant proteins. Fermented plant protein foods offer a unique blend of bioactive components and beneficial microorganisms that can enhance gut health and combat chronic diseases. Utilizing various probiotic strains and plant protein sources opens doors to develop innovative probiotic products with enhanced functionalities. Nonetheless, the mechanisms and synergistic effects of these interactions remain not fully understood. This review aims to delve into the roles of promoting health through the intricate interplay of plant proteins and probiotics. The regulatory mechanisms have been elucidated to showcase the synergistic effects, accompanied by a discussion on the challenges and future research prospects. It is essential to recognize that the interactions between plant proteins and probiotics encompass multiple mechanisms, highlighting the need for further research to address challenges in achieving a comprehensive understanding of these mechanisms and their associated health benefits.

Enhancing the functionality of plant-based Yogurt: Integration of lycopene through dual-stage fermentation of soymilk

Well-defined compositional assemblies of plant-based yogurt are of fast-growing awareness for world population concerning environmental sustainability, economic burdens and health risks. Soybean is an attractive candidate for plant yogurt, suffering from poor flavor, limited nutrition, and undesired allergens to offer healthy-functional segments. Herein, we deciphered a novel lycopene-soy yogurt by efficient two-stage fermentation of engineered B. subtilis and LAB. The fortified sogurt was ensured with redundant lycopene of 22.67 ± 2.95 mg/g DCW by engineered B. subtilis and enriched soy isoflavone from synergistic effects of engineered B. subtilis and LAB, possessing strong antioxidant capacity for upgrading functionality. Moreover, the desired pH, accelerated protein hydrolysis, enhanced amino acid availability, and expected sensory attributes cooperatively conferred lycopene-soy yogurt as healthy functional food. High potential is firstly ascribed to sequential dual culture of engineered B. subtilis and LAB in lycopene-soy yogurt, in which flavorful, hypoallergenic and antioxidative ingredients enabled functionalities for plant-based yogurt.

Comprehensive studies on the stability of yogurt-type fermented soy beverages during refrigerated storage using dairy starter cultures

Introduction

This study aimed to assess the feasibility of utilizing commercially available dairy starter cultures to produce yogurt-type fermented soy beverages and evaluate the fundamental properties of the resulting products.

Methods

Sixteen different starter cultures commonly used in the dairy industry for producing fermented milks, such as yogurt, were employed in the study. The study investigated the acidification curves, acidification kinetics, live cell population of starter microflora during refrigerated storage, pH changes, water-holding capacity, texture analysis, carbohydrates content, and fatty acid profile of the yogurt-type fermented soy beverage.

Results and Discussion

The results demonstrated that the starter cultures exhibited distinct pH changes during the fermentation process, and these changes were statistically significant among the cultures. The acidification kinetics of different cultures of lactic acid bacteria showed characteristic patterns, which can be used to select the most suitable cultures for specific product production. The study also revealed that the choice of starter culture significantly influenced the starter microorganisms population in the yogurt-type fermented soy beverage. Additionally, the pH values and water-holding capacity of the beverages were affected by both the starter cultures and the duration of refrigerated storage. Texture analysis indicated that storage time had a significant impact on hardness and adhesiveness, with stabilization of these parameters observed after 7-21 days of storage. Furthermore, the fermentation process resulted in changes in the carbohydrate content of the soy beverages, which varied depending on the starter culture used.

Recent innovations and emerging technological advances used to improve quality and process of plant-based milk analogs

The worldwide challenges related to food sustainability are presently more critical than ever before due to the severe consequences of climate change, outbreak of epidemics, and wars. Many consumers are shifting their dietary habits toward consuming more plant-based foods, such as plant milk analogs (PMA) for health, sustainability, and well-being reasons. The PMA market is anticipated to reach US$38 billion within 2024, making them the largest segment in plant-based foods. Nevertheless, using plant matrices to produce PMA has numerous limitations, including, among others, low stability and short shelf life. This review addresses the main obstacles facing quality and safety of PMA formula. Moreover, this literature overview discusses the emerging approaches, e.g., pulsed electric field (PEF), cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), ultrasound (US), ultra-high-pressure homogenization (UHPH), ultraviolet C (UVC) irradiation, ozone (O3), and hurdle technology used in PMA formulations to overcome their common challenges. These emerging technologies have a vast potential at the lab scale to improve physicochemical characteristics, increase stability and extend the shelf-life, decrease food additives, increase nutritional and organoleptic qualities of the end product. Although the PMA fabrication on a large scale using these technologies can be expected in the near future to formulate novel food products that can offer green alternatives to conventional dairy products, further development is still needed for wider commercial applications.

Fermentation for Designing Innovative Plant-Based Meat and Dairy Alternatives

Fermentation was traditionally used all over the world, having the preservation of plant and animal foods as a primary role. Owing to the rise of dairy and meat alternatives, fermentation is booming as an effective technology to improve the sensory, nutritional, and functional profiles of the new generation of plant-based products. This article intends to review the market landscape of fermented plant-based products with a focus on dairy and meat alternatives. Fermentation contributes to improving the organoleptic properties and nutritional profile of dairy and meat alternatives. Precision fermentation provides more opportunities for plant-based meat and dairy manufacturers to deliver a meat/dairy-like experience. Seizing the opportunities that the progress of digitalization is offering would boost the production of high-value ingredients such as enzymes, fats, proteins, and vitamins. Innovative technologies such as 3D printing could be an effective post-processing solution following fermentation in order to mimic the structure and texture of conventional products.

Fermentation of plant-based dairy alternatives by lactic acid bacteria

Ethical, environmental and health concerns around dairy products are driving a fast‐growing industry for plant‐based dairy alternatives, but undesirable flavours and textures in available products are limiting their uptake into the mainstream. The molecular processes initiated during fermentation by lactic acid bacteria in dairy products is well understood, such as proteolysis of caseins into peptides and amino acids, and the utilisation of carbohydrates to form lactic acid and exopolysaccharides. These processes are fundamental to developing the flavour and texture of fermented dairy products like cheese and yoghurt, yet how these processes work in plant‐based alternatives is poorly understood. With this knowledge, bespoke fermentative processes could be engineered for specific food qualities in plant‐based foods. This review will provide an overview of recent research that reveals how fermentation occurs in plant‐based milk, with a focus on how differences in plant proteins and carbohydrate structure affect how they undergo the fermentation process. The practical aspects of how this knowledge has been used to develop plant‐based cheeses and yoghurts is also discussed.

Ingredients, Processing, and Fermentation: Addressing the Organoleptic Boundaries of Plant-Based Dairy Analogues

Consumer interest and research in plant-based dairy analogues has been growing in recent years because of increasingly negative implications of animal-derived products on human health, animal wellbeing, and the environment. However, plant-based dairy analogues face many challenges in mimicking the organoleptic properties of dairy products due to their undesirable off-flavours and textures. This article thus reviews fermentation as a viable pathway to developing clean-label plant-based dairy analogues with satisfactory consumer acceptability. Discussions on complementary strategies such as raw material selection and extraction technologies are also included. An overview of plant raw materials with the potential to be applied in dairy analogues is first discussed, followed by a review of the processing steps and innovative techniques required to transform these plant raw materials into functional ingredients such as plant-based aqueous extracts or flours for subsequent fermentation. Finally, the various fermentation (bacterial, yeast, and fungal) methodologies applied for the improvement of texture and other sensory qualities of plant-based dairy analogues are covered. Concerted research efforts would be required in the future to tailor and optimise the presented wide diversity of options to produce plant-based fermented dairy analogues that are both delicious and nutritionally adequate.