Plant-Based Fermented Beverages: Nutritional Composition, Sensory Properties, and Health Benefits.
- 2024-03-10
- Foods (Basel, Switzerland) 13(6)
- Belén Hidalgo-Fuentes
- Edgar de Jesús-José
- Anselmo de J Cabrera-Hidalgo
- Ofelia Sandoval-Castilla
- Teodoro Espinosa-Solares
- Ricardo M González-Reza
- María L Zambrano-Zaragoza
- Andrea M Liceaga
- José E Aguilar-Toalá
- PubMed: 38540834
- DOI: 10.3390/foods13060844
Study Design
- Type
- Review
Plant-based beverages have gained consumers' attention for being the main substitutes for dairy milk, especially for people with lactose intolerance, milk allergies, and a prevalence of hypercholesterolemia. Moreover, there is a growing demand for a more sustainable diet and plant-based lifestyle due to concerns related to animal wellbeing, environmental impacts linked to dairy production, and the rising cost of animal-derived foods. However, there are some factors that restrict plant-based beverage consumption, including their nutritional quality and poor sensory profile. In this context, fermentation processes can contribute to the improvement of their sensory properties, nutritional composition, and functional/bioactive profile. In particular, the fermentation process can enhance flavor compounds (e.g., acetoin and acetic acid) while decreasing off-flavor components (e.g., hexanal and hexanol) in the substrate. Furthermore, it enhances the digestibility and bioavailability of nutrients, leading to increased levels of vitamins (e.g., ascorbic acid and B complex), amino acids (e.g., methionine and tryptophan), and proteins, while simultaneously decreasing the presence of anti-nutritional factors (e.g., phytic acid and saponins). In contrast, plant-based fermented beverages have been demonstrated to possess diverse bioactive compounds (e.g., polyphenols and peptides) with different biological properties (e.g., antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antihypertensive). Therefore, this article provides an overview of plant-based fermented beverages including their production, technological aspects, and health benefits.