Probiotic LP28 and improve the bioactive content and quality of fruit-based rice beverage.

The increasing demand for plant-based beverages with improved functional and sensory qualities has guided this study, which examines the bioactive content, functional, and sensory properties of a rice, apple pomace, and sea buckthorn beverage (RASB) fermented with probiotic and . We found out that total polyphenol content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and β-carotene were significantly higher in samples with , particularly in coculture samples. These samples also exhibited elevated alcohol by volume (ABV). Monoculture samples showed increased total flavonol content (TFLC), total anthocyanin content (TAC), and proanthocyanidin. The RASB-LP sample, containing only , revealed the highest antioxidant properties, evidenced by DPPH (94.13 ± 0.05%) and ABTS (97.69 ± 0.09%) assays. Interestingly, 3-methylbutyl 3-methylbutanoate, abundant in the unfermented control, was hydrolyzed to 3-methyl-1-butanol in fermented samples, especially those containing . Sensory evaluation evidenced that RASB-LP scored highest for aroma and overall acceptability. FTIR analysis also indicated changes in functional groups of RASB samples. Together, our findings suggest that a novel probiotic cereal beverage with enhanced quality can be developed through the addition of fruit and fruit pomace, coupled with fermentation using LP28 and .