Lactic acid fermentation of β-carotene rich sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) into lacto-juice

Lacto-juices processed by lactic acid fermentation bring about a change in the beverage assortment for their high nutritive value, vitamins and minerals which are beneficial to human health when consumed. Sweet potato roots (non-boiled/ fully-boiled) were fermented with Lactobacillus plantarum MTCC 1407 at 28 +/- 2 degrees C for 48 h to make lacto-juice. During fermentation both analytical [pH, titratable acidity, lactic acid, starch, total sugar, reducing sugar (g/kg roots), total phenol and beta-carotene (mg/kg roots)] and sensory (texture, taste, aroma, flavour and after taste) analyses of sweet potato lacto-juice were evaluated. The fermented juice was subjected to panelist evaluation for acceptability. There were no significant variations in biochemical constituents (pH, 2.2-3.3; lactic acid, 1.19-1.27 g/kg root; titratable acidity, 1.23-1.46 g/kg root, etc.) of lacto-juices prepared from non-boiled and fully-boiled sweet potato roots except beta-carotene concentration [130 +/- 7.5 mg/kg (fully-boiled roots) and 165 +/- 8.1 mg/kg (non-boiled roots)]. The panelist evaluation scores ranged from 3-4.8 (in a hedonic scale of 1-5) from moderate liking to very much liking of sweet potato lacto-juice. Principal component analyses reduced the eight original analytical variables to three independent components (factors), which accounted for 99.9% of the total variations. Similarly, five original sensory variables were reduced to two independent components, which accounted for 83.1% of the total variations.