The advantages and trends of lactic acid fermentation in the production of innovative fruit puree: Analysis with PROMETHEE and cluster

Abstract The goal of this study was to create a fermented probiotic fruit puree for lactose‐intolerant people, vegetarians, and infants over 6 months old. Fermented fruit purees were developed using apples, peaches, and bananas with lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains: Lactobacillus plantarum subsp. plantarum (S5), Lactobacillus fermentum strain w8 (S10), and Lactobacillus pentosus strain ml104 (S14). Different fruit puree formulations were produced using three strains, two inoculation ratios (4% and 5%), and two fermentation durations (24 and 48 h). The physicochemical parameters (pH, total soluble solids, and color), total phenols content (TPC), total antioxidant capacity, bacterial viability, volatile aroma profile (VAP), and individual phenolic compound profile of fruit puree fermented for both 24 and 48 h were compared with the unfermented (control) purees. The results of VAP were evaluated via PROMETHEE and cluster analysis. Time of fermentation and bacterial cultures at varied concentrations improved color values of samples ( L* , a* , and b* ) compared to controls. The level of bioactive compounds in several samples (S10 and S14) decreased after fermentation in contrast to S5 samples. The bacterial population in the samples ranged from ∼7.00 to 9.50 log CFU/g after 48‐h fermentation. The fruit puree samples exhibited the presence of two different phenolic compounds and a total of 17 distinct volatile aroma compounds. The control sample scored highest for aromatic components in PROMETHEE, while S14‐II was the most unique sample in cluster analysis. In conclusion, fermented probiotic fruit puree shown high promise as a carrier for live probiotics, and the fermentation process boosted the nutritional content of the fruit puree.