Improving the functional and sensorial profile of cereal-based fermented foods by selecting Lactobacillus plantarum strains via a metabolomics approach

- Durum and KAMUT® khorasan wheats were fermented by L. plantarum.
- L. plantarum fermentation improved volatile and polyphenol molecules.
- KAMUT® khorasan wheat is a rich source of flavouring and healthy compounds.
- Metabolomics is a tool to select strain/substrate combination for healthy and tasty foods.

Metabolomics was recently applied in food science for monitoring the quality, processing, safety, and microbiology of both raw materials and final products to improve the consumer's health and confidence.The present work aimed at using a metabolomics approach to detect the flavour and antioxidant profiles characteristic of different Lactobacillus plantarum strains in sourdoughs of durum wheat and KAMUT® khorasan wheat. The study was developed to improve sensorial and functional properties of cereal-fermented foods through the selection of optimal flour-microbial strain combinations. A large set of metabolites, including volatile compounds, polyphenols and flavonoids, was taken into consideration and the antioxidant activity was determined. The metabolic profiles were combined by using heat maps to visualise the result of a hierarchical clustering of profile data. In KAMUT® khorasan wheat-fermented dough, a high correlation was found between a group of volatiles (5 alcohols, 6 carbonils, dodecanoic acid and 1,3-hexadiene) and the polyphenolic compounds gallic acid (GA), epigallocatechin-gallate (EGCG), epigallocatechin (EGC), flavonoids (Flav), protocathecuic acid (Prot ac) and total polyphenols (Polyp). In durum wheat dough a different pattern of volatile molecules (10 alcohols, 5 carbonils, 3 acids and 3 hydrocarbons) resulted highly correlated with EGC, EGCG, Flav and Polyp. The results also evidenced a simultaneous increase of sensorial and health promoting compounds when using L. plantarum strains 98A and 6BHI in fermented durum wheat dough, while 94A and 206 strains had their highest performance with KAMUT® khorasan wheat dough. Our data show that metabolomics may represent an important tool for the rapid selection of strain/substrate combinations to simultaneously increase sensorial and health beneficial characteristics.