Comparing product stability of probiotic beverages using litchi juice treated by high hydrostatic pressure and heat as substrates

• Fermented HHP-treated litchi juice showed a better color, flavor and overall acceptance.
• Fermented HHP-treated litchi juice retained more total phenolics and antioxidant capacity.
• HHP could be applied in litchi juice to ensure the microbial safety prior to fermentation.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of litchi juice treated by high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) as substrates for producing a probiotic beverage by Lactobacillus casei. The quality attributes and product stability of fermented heat- and HHP-treated litchi juice by L. casei were compared. Compared with fermented heat-treated litchi juice, fermented HHP-treated litchi juice showed a better color, flavor and overall acceptance, and also retained more total phenolics and antioxidant capacity. Both viability counts of L. casei were more 8.0 log CFU/mL in heat- and HHP-treated litchi juice after 4 weeks of storage at 4 °C. Besides, some quality attributes in fermented heat- and HHP-treated litchi juice showed the tendency to slow decrease during storage at 4 °C, but both scores of overall acceptance of fermented heat- and HHP-treated litchi juice showed no reduction after the storage of 4 weeks at 4 °C. Overall, the application of HHP treatment could be an ideal alternative of heat treatment to ensure the microbial safety, consistent sensory and nutritional quality of fermented litchi juice prior to fermentation.Industrial relevanceThe study is relevant to fermentation of litchi juice by probiotic L. casei. In this study, results shown the application of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment could be an ideal alternative of heat treatment to ensure the microbial safety, consistent sensory and nutritional quality of fermented litchi juice prior to fermentation.