Effect of Fermentation with Probiotic <i>Lactiplantibacillus plantarum</i> (MCC 2974) on Quality Characteristics and In Vitro Digestibility of Finger Millet Milk
Shweta Yadav, Sabyasachi Mishra, Rama Chandra Pradhan
Abstract
Probiotic health foods now have a growing demand and acceptability. Finger millets, an underutilized crop rich in nutrients and phytochemicals, could be explored to develop a probiotic food. The present work is focused on developing probiotic milk from finger millet. The effects of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum MCC 2974 on the process, stability, and quality parameters of finger millet milk were investigated. Acidity, phenolic content, antioxidant activity, and viscosity increased, while pH decreased. The Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) study confirmed the reduction of antinutrients due to fermentation. The confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) study of the product confirmed the survival of probiotics in the fermented finger millet milk. The bacteria survived in vitro digestion suggesting enough health benefits. A storage study suggested that the developed probiotic product could be stored for 42 days with a sufficient cell load at 4 °C. The study explored the finger millet milk matrix for probiotic growth and survivability. The results are promising as a functional health food and could be scaled up for the industry.