Abstract Buchanania (B.) lanzan is an excellent multipurpose tree well known for its medicinal and therapeutic values in Indian folk medicine. All the parts of this plant are used for preparation of various traditional medicines. In the present study, fruit extracts of B. lanzan were used for the production of lacto-juice through fermentation using three Lactobacillus strains, such as Lacticaseibacillus (L.) rhamnosus (MTCC 1408) , Lactiplantibacillus (Lp.) plantarum (MTCC 1407) , and Levilactobacillus (Lvb.) brevis (MTCC 1750). The crude fruit juice was used to analyze the presence of various phytochemical compounds, along with total sugar, lactic acid, and pH content. The results of the phytochemical study showed the presence of tannins, saponins, steroids, glycosides, phytosterols, terpenoids, triterpenoids, leucoanthocyanins, phlobatannins, and phenolic compounds. After fermentation, the pH of the Lp. plantarum fermented B. lanzan fruit juice decreased from 5.18 ± 0.71 to 4.82 ± 0.55, indicating the occurrence of better fermentation as compared to Lvb. brevis, and L. rhamnosus fermented juice with pH 5.18 ± 0.71 to 4.86 ± 0.45 and 4.93 ± 0.45, respectively. The Lp. plantarum fermented fruit juice showed the highest lactic acid production of 16.78 ± 0.3 g/L after 120 h incubation whereas that of the Lvb. brevis and L. rhamnsus had lactic acid concentrations of 14.98 ± 0.11 g/L and 12.78 ± 0.45 g/L, respectively. The sugar concentration of the Lp. plantarum fermented juice decreased from 147.11 ± 0.37 g/L to 75.91 ± 0.40 g/L after 120 h of fermentation, indicating the utilization of sugar by Lp. plantarum for lactic acid production. The Lp. plantarum fermented juice showed antioxidant and antibacterial activity. The fermented sample was further characterized using Fourier transform infrared, gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and scan electron microscope (SEM) analyses. The lactic acid peak was observed in GC-MS analysis, and SEM analysis showed attachment of Lp. plantarum in the fermented sample. All these indicate that the fermentated lacto-juice of B. lanzan shows high potential in the development of probiotic-based beverages with a vast spectrum of health benefits and other biological activities.
Rout et al. (Wed,) studied this question.