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Study and characterization of a product based on a vegetable extract of quinoa fermented with water kefir grains

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This work aimed to study and characterize a product based on vegetable extract of quinoa (WVEQ) fermented with water kefir grains. The effect of sucrose concentration (SC), inulin concentration (IC), and xanthan gum (XG) concentration were evaluated using a central composite design (CCD) 2³. They were subsequently characterized regarding cellular growth of the grains, beverage yield, pH, soluble solids, carbon dioxide (CO2) production, lactic acid, and ethanol production. Therefore, for the final stage, two formulations (F1 and F8) of the CCD were chosen to be characterized in terms of proximate composition, microbiological composition of the kefir culture, analysis of organic compounds, sensory analysis, and enzymatic and microbiological characterization before and after simulation of in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. In the two chosen products, one can see that fermentation optimized the bioavailability of proteins due to the high proteolytic activity of the microorganisms in kefir and the increase in lipid content. In identifying microorganisms, there was a prevalence of Saccharomyces sp. yeasts. In the sensory analysis, the F8 formulation showed better results than the F1 formulation. In vitro, gastrointestinal digestion showed reduced lactic acid bacteria and yeast and increased acetic acid bacteria in the liquid phase for both formulations. In the enzymatic profile, there was a reduction in all enzymes analyzed for both formulations, except for amylase in F1, which went from 14.05 U/mL to 39.41 U/mL. Therefore, it is concluded that using WVEQ as a substrate for the product appears to be a viable alternative with nutritional and technological advantages for serving a specific market niche.
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RESEARCH
World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology (2024) 40:118
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-024-03943-x
Introduction
A change in the dietary prole of consumers is observed
concerning the growing trend towards plant-based diets.
This is consistent with the increase in vegan people or peo-
ple who have a food allergy that restricts milk intake (Diniz
et al. 2020; Mosso et al. 2020; Väkeväinen et al. 2020).
The increased consumption of plant-based foods may also
be associated with physiological factors such as lactose
intolerance or allergies to milk proteins (α-lactalbumin,
β-lactoglobulin, and casein) (Sharma et al. 2001; Vanga and
Raghavan 2018).
The vegan market has been consequently increasing its
space, where global sales in 2019 reached around 55 billion
dollars, 25 times more than in 2015, and in 2023, there is
a prospect of getting more than 60 billion dollars (Statisca
Helen Treichel
helentreichel@gmail.com
1 Federal University of Fronteira Sul – Campus Laranjeiras
do Sul, Food Science and Technology, BR 158, km 405,
Laranjeiras do Sul, PR, Brazil
2 Laboratory of Microbiology and Bioprocesses,
Environmental Science and Technology, Federal University
of Fronteira Sul, RS 135, km 72, Erechim, RS
99700-000, Brazil
3 Department of Biosciences, Universidade Federal de São
Paulo (UNIFESP), Silva Jardim Street, 136, Vila Mathias,
Santos, SP 11015-020, Brazil
4 Nutrition and Food Service Research Center, Universidade
Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Silva Jardim Street, 136,
Vila Mathias, Santos, São Paulo, SP 11015-020, Brazil
5 Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidade Federal
de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Campus Diadema, Diadema,
São Paulo 09972-270, Brazil
Abstract
This work aimed to study and characterize a product based on vegetable extract of quinoa (WVEQ) fermented with water
ker grains. The eect of sucrose concentration (SC), inulin concentration (IC), and xanthan gum (XG) concentration were
evaluated using a central composite design (CCD) 23. They were subsequently characterized regarding cellular growth of the
grains, beverage yield, pH, soluble solids, carbon dioxide (CO2) production, lactic acid, and ethanol production. Therefore,
for the nal stage, two formulations (F1 and F8) of the CCD were chosen to be characterized in terms of proximate composi-
tion, microbiological composition of the ker culture, analysis of organic compounds, sensory analysis, and enzymatic and
microbiological characterization before and after simulation of in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. In the two chosen products,
one can see that fermentation optimized the bioavailability of proteins due to the high proteolytic activity of the microorgan-
isms in ker and the increase in lipid content. In identifying microorganisms, there was a prevalence of Saccharomyces sp.
yeasts. In the sensory analysis, the F8 formulation showed better results than the F1 formulation. In vitro, gastrointestinal
digestion showed reduced lactic acid bacteria and yeast and increased acetic acid bacteria in the liquid phase for both formu-
lations. In the enzymatic prole, there was a reduction in all enzymes analyzed for both formulations, except for amylase in
F1, which went from 14.05 U/mL to 39.41 U/mL. Therefore, it is concluded that using WVEQ as a substrate for the product
appears to be a viable alternative with nutritional and technological advantages for serving a specic market niche.
Keywords Formulations · Pseudocereal · Enzymes · Simulated digestion · Probiotics
Received: 16 October 2023 / Accepted: 26 February 2024 / Published online: 2 March 2024
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2024
Study and characterization of a product based on a vegetable extract
of quinoa fermented with water ker grains
Flavia LeticiaSanches1· Cláudia Moreira Santa CatharinaWeis1· Giovanna Camile VazGonçalves1·
Gessica SuianyAndrade1· Luan Gabriel TechiDiniz1· Aline FrumiCamargo2· SimoneKubeneck2·
Gabriel HenriqueKlein2· Larissa CapelettiRomani2· Vitoria DassolerLongo2· MonizeBürck3,4· LucianoTormen1·
Anna Rafaela CavalcanteBraga3,4,5· Catia Tavares Dos PassosFrancisco1· HelenTreichel1,2·
Larissa CanhadasBertan1
1 3
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
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