Enrichment of nutritional value of Phyllanthus emblica fruit juice using the probiotic bacterium, Lactobacillus paracasei HII01 mediated fermentation

Fermented herbal juices are widely consumed all over the world especially in Thailand. Thai people believe that these herbal juices can prevent and cure disease, and are supplemented as a health promoting beverage said to have anti-aging properties. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) fermented beverages (LAFB) such as EM-X, fermented soybean broth, and Kefir have been widely used by world population. EM-X is an antioxidant beverage prepared by fermentation of papaya, unpolished rice, and seaweeds with the help of effective microbes such as photosynthetic bacteria, LAB, and yeast (Ekpeghere et al., 2012). It is accepted in clinical practices and is recommended as a prophylactic beverage used for the cure of various infectious diseases, allergies, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and rheumatism (Deiana et al., 2002). Fermented Soybean broth is reported to be rich in antioxidant property (Yang et al., 2000; Romero et al., 2004). Kefir is a fermented milk product and is believed to contain efficient substances (La Rivière & Kooiman, 1967; Arslan, 2015). Several LAB such as Lactobacillus kefiri, L. paracasei (Gao et al., 2015), L. plantarum, L. satsumensis (Miguel et al., 2010), L. lactis (Bergmann et al., 2010), L. brevis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, and yeasts such as Kluyveromyces marxianus, K. wickerhamii, Pichia angusta, P. guilliermondii have been identified in kefir grains (Kıvanç & Yapıcı, 2015). In the kefir grains, LAB and yeast are surrounded by slimy polysaccharide matrix called kefiran (Rodrigues et al., 2005). LAB present in the kefir produces lactic acid, acetaldehyde, and several kind of bacteriocins, which delays and inhibits the pathogenic bacteria (Bacillus cereus, Clostridium tyributyricum, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus) contamination (Kıvanç & Yapıcı, 2015). Many strains of Lactic acid bacteria like L. paracasei, L. plantarum (Altay et al., 2013), L. pentosus, L. brevis, L. fermentum, L. casei, L. kimchi, L. fallax, Weissella confusa, W. koreenis, W. cibaria, and Pediococcus pentosaceus are used in various fermented foods (Swain et al., 2014). Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei NTU 101 and its fermented products have been reported for its beneficial effects in preventing hyperlipidemia-induced oxidative stress and atherosclerosis, and reduces the blood pressure (Chiang & Pan, 2012). Chen et al. (2015) have revealed that L. paracasei 01 fermented milk beverage as a functional food in strengthening the intestinal barrier by protecting the intestinal epithelial cells. Mostly L. paracasei have been reported for its multiprobiotic activity (Wassenberg et al., 2011; Chiang & Pan, 2012; Pellaton et al., 2012; Chen et al., 2015). Therefore, this study have focused on L. paracasei as a starter culture for LAFB.