As probiotic microorganisms must remain viable at a certain level throughout the shelf life of fermented foods, various plant-based prebiotics are added to fermented dairy products. Pea (Pisum sativum L.) is a remarkable food source due to its prebiotic properties, high phenolic content and antioxidant capacity. In this study, fermented milks containing different proportions of pea fiber powder (0%, 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2%) were produced using Limosilactobacillus reuteri ACC27, which has probiotic potential, and Streptococcus thermophilus 212S. The addition of pea fiber powder promoted the growth of Limosilactobacillus reuteri ACC27, increasing viable cell counts by approximately 1 log CFU/g compared to the control during storage. In addition, the fermentation time was shortened by approximately 30 min in samples containing pea fiber. Malic (84.07–175.58 mg/kg), lactic (11,670.45–13,791.66 mg/kg), acetic (145.12–240.53 mg/kg) and benzoic acids (17.07–20.34 mg/kg) were detected in all samples. Furthermore, pea fiber supplementation improved physicochemical properties by reducing syneresis and modifying water release behavior, while also increasing viscosity. The addition of pea fiber also enhanced total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity of the samples. The results of the principal component analysis revealed that the addition of pea fiber powder was associated with potentially improved functional attributes and enhanced probiotic viability under the studied conditions.
Hacıbayramoğlu et al. (2026) studied this question.