Manufacture and characterization of functional emmer beverages fermented by selected lactic acid bacteria

Autochthonous lactic acid bacteria from emmer flour were screened based on the kinetic of acidification and used to ferment beverages containing emmer flour, emmer gelatinized flour, and emmer malt at percentages ranging 5-30% (wt/wt). Preliminarily, the concentration of raw flour and malt was selected based on sensory analysis. Different protocols were set up for the manufacture of four different beverages which used Lactobacillus plantarum 6E as the starter. Emmer beverages were mainly differentiated based on the concentration of organic acids, carbohydrates, amino acids, dietary fibers, vitamins, antioxidant and phytase activities, and volatiles and sensory profiles. Wheat flour bread was used as the control to determine the hydrolysis index (HI=100), as an indirect estimation of the glycemic index. The beverage made with 30% (wt/wt) of gelatinized flour showed an HI of 56%, its viscosity was improved by using an EPS-producing strain and it allowed the survival of the potential probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus SP1 at cell density of ca. 5 × 10(8) cfu/ml throughout storage at 4 °C. Among the exploited biotechnological options, this latter beverage could be considered as a promising novel functional food.