Abstract

Soymilk is a good source of proteins and health-promoting isoflavones, but it contains oligosaccharides that cause flatulence. Fermenting it with probiotic bacteria may reduce the oligosaccharides and enhance its health benefits.The present study determined the growth of different lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in soymilk obtained from soybean varieties grown in Rwanda and the effect of fermentation on oligosaccharides that cause flatulence (stachyose, raffinose and verbascose), and antioxidant activity of fermented soybean milk. After fermentation at 30°C for 24 hours, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus reuteri, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactococcus cremoris and Lactobacillus casei attained around 8 log CFU/ml, which is sufficient for probiotic effects. However, only L. reuteri, L. brevis and L. plantarum caused sufficient drop in pH and increase in viscosity characteristic of a good fermented product. Soymilk from different soybean varieties did not show significant differences in the growth of these three LAB.These LAB reduced content of oligosaccharides and total polyphenols, but increased antioxidant activity in soymilk, which translate into health benefits of fermented soybean products.

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