Changes in the Phytochemical and Bioactive Compounds and the Antioxidant Properties of Wolfberry during Vinegar Fermentation Processes

Abstract

Wolfberry (Lycium barbarum L.), as a kind of functional fruit, has various nutritional and bioactive components, which exhibit healthy benefits. However, wolfberry is not easy to preserve, and the intensive processing of wolfberry needs to be developed. In the present study, the changes in the phytochemical and bioactive compounds, as well as the antioxidant properties of wolfberry, were evaluated in the brewed processes. We found that the sugar contents were significantly decreased, and the total acids values were significantly increased during the fermentation processes. The sugar and fat contents were low in the wolfberry fruit vinegar after fermentation, which is of benefit to human health. In addition, amino acids were examined during the fermentation processes, and histidine, proline, and alanine were found to be the main amino acids in vinegar. The total phenolics and flavonoids contents were significantly increased by 29.4% and 65.7% after fermentation. 4-Hydroxy benzoic acid, 3-hydroxy cinnamic acid, and chlorogenic acid were the primary polyphenols in the wolfberry fruit vinegar. Moreover, the antioxidant activity of wolfberry fruit vinegar was significantly increased compared with that of wolfberry fruit after the fermentation processes. Polysaccharides and polyphenolics were strongly correlated with the antioxidant activity during the fermentation processes. The findings suggest that wolfberry fruit vinegar has a high antioxidant capability, and could be a beneficial food in the human diet.

Recent advances of fermented fruits: A review on strains, fermentation strategies, and functional activities

“…Proline and histidine are the main amino acids in Goji fruit wine. During the fermentation of fruit vinegar, histidine increased significantly, while proline and alanine content decreased significantly ( Xia et al, 2022 ). Altogether, fermentation of fruits could produce various active ingredients superior to those of fruit and vegetable raw materials, such as enzymes, organic acids, peptides, oligosaccharides, vitamins, flavonoids, polyphenols, amino acids, natural antibiotics, minerals, polysaccharides, as well as antioxidant components such as γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, etc., to increase its commercial value.…”

Bioactive Components of Lycium barbarum and Deep-Processing Fermentation Products

“…Due to the raw materials and fermentation, the products contain a variety of nutritional and active components, such as organic acids, amino acids, and polyphenols [90,91]. Some studies have reported that fruit vinegar has the effects of antibacterial and antioxidant activities, anti-aging, and anti-fatigue [92][93][94].…”

Chemical characteristics, antioxidant capacity, bacterial community, and metabolite composition of mulberry silage ensiling with lactic acid bacteria

“…Therefore, the combination of epiphytic LAB inoculants with S. bovis would improve mulberry silage quality and antioxidant capacity by affecting the bacterial community, hence producing different metabolites such as flavonoids (He et al, 2021 ; Xia et al, 2022b ). The food fermentation system inoculated with LAB could increase bioactive compounds (such as phenolics and flavonoids) and antioxidant capacity (Kim and Jang, 2011 ; Xia et al, 2022a ). However, the mechanism of how epiphytic LAB affected silage quality and antioxidant capacity by altering the microbial community and metabolite composition is still unclear.…”