This study evaluated the impact of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) fermentation on the flavor of soy beverage using sensory analysis, electronic nose, and GC-MS/OAV techniques. LAB fermentation encreased sourness and aroma while eliminating beany off-flavors (hexanal, benzaldehyde) with 100% removal efficiency. Fermentation promoted beneficial aroma compounds like acetoin and esters. Electronic nose sensors (W1W, W5S, W1S, W2W) effectively distinguished samples. GC-MS identified 69 volatiles, with OPLS-DA revealing 16 key differential compounds (OAV > 1) correlated with sensory attributes. The mixed LAB consortium (grx90-grx16-grx08) produced optimal results, yielding the highest acetoin concentration (11.77 μg/L) and completely eliminating beany markers (hexanal, 1-hexanol, benzaldehyde). These results demonstrated the consortium’s capacity to improve palatability of plant-based beverages by reducing off-flavors and synthesizing desirable aromas. The findings provided valuable strain resources for developing premium fermented plant beverages with enhanced sensory profiles. • Fermentation can eliminate beany off-flavor compounds such as hexanal. • Fermentation increases the content of acids, ketones and esters. • LAB improve the taste and organoleptic properties of fermented soymilk.
Zong et al. (Wed,) studied this question.