Development of Fermented Beverages from Whole Lentils and Lentil Flour: A Comparative Study of Microbiological,...

Lentils represent a sustainable and nutrient-dense raw material for the development of fermented plant-based beverages. This study aimed to compare the functional, microbiological, and sensory properties of lentil-based milk alternatives prepared from whole lentils (WLD) and lentil flour (LFD), fermented with seven probiotic strains: Lactobacillus acidophilus 57 S, L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, Bifidobacterium bifidum, B. longum B379M, Bacillus coagulans MTCC 5856, Propionibacterium freudenreichii subsp. shermanii KM-186, and Streptococcus thermophilus TA 40. The LFD samples contained less protein (3.01% vs 3.71%) and polyphenol (33.948 vs. 35.149 mg GAE/100 g), but more fat (0.20 vs. 0.31%) compared to WLD. Fermentation enhanced antioxidant activity: in LFD, L. bulgaricus and L. acidophilus increased DPPH scavenging activity to 59.44% and 56.44%, respectively, while S. thermophilus in WLD achieved 60.55%. Viscosity was also higher in LFD samples fermented with L. bulgaricus (5.08 Pa·s) and L. acidophilus (4.10 Pa·s), compared to WLD (3.30 Pa·s with L. bulgaricus). Microbial viability remained above [Formula: see text] CFU/mL over 11 days at 4 °C for most strains; B. coagulans showed growth even during storage. Sensory evaluation revealed preferred overall acceptability for LFD samples fermented with B. bifidum, B. longum and P. shermanii KM-186, while for fermented WLD samples the highest score for overall preference were for B. bifidum, B. longum. These results support lentil flour-based fermented beverages as promising alternatives to dairy products, offering enhanced nutritional, functional, and sensory characteristics.