[Lactic starter cultures to improve the oat bioactive compounds].

Area of Science:

• Food Science and Technology
• Microbiology
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Oats possess valuable antioxidant compounds.
• Lactic fermentation is a potential biostrategy to enhance bioactive compounds.
• Understanding lactic bacteria adaptability to oat substrates is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate lactic bacteria (LB) adaptability in an oats/water system (OWS).
• To assess the impact of lactic fermentation on oat phenolic compounds (PC) and antioxidant activity.
• To identify LB strains capable of enhancing oat's bioactive properties.

Main Methods:

• Screened 31 LB strains for growth, acidification, and fermentation activity using impedimetric methods (DT, VMCC, PCC).
• Quantified phenolic compounds (Folin-Ciocalteu), peptides, amino acids, and antioxidant activity (DPPH, ABTS) in fermented oat extracts.
• Compared results from fermented OWS/SAAf with control OWS/SAA.

Main Results:

• Six LB strains demonstrated excellent adaptability to OWS/SAA, with high VMCC and PCC, and low DT (≤3 h).
• Fermented OWS/SAAf showed increased PC content (29.1-36.9 μg GAE/ml) compared to controls (17.1 μg GAE/ml).
• Antioxidant activity of methanolic extracts increased by 9-25.5%; peptide and amino acid changes were minor.

Conclusions:

• Lactic bacteria can effectively adapt to oats as a fermentation substrate.
• Lactic fermentation significantly enhances the phenolic compound content and antioxidant activity of oats.
• Specific LB strains hold potential for developing functional oat-based food products with improved health benefits.