A novel concoction method of Chinese medicinal and edible plants: probiotic fermentation, sensory and functional composition analysis†

Probiotic fermentation is a novel concoction method of medicinal and edible plants with microbial-specific biotransformation function. Some dipeptides, nucleosides and flavonoids exhibit strong flavor and functional properties and play an important role in enhancing the sensory quality and functional composition, while probiotic fermentation may promote the increase of these substances and thus the quality of plants. In this study, Lactobacillus paracasei 5572 was used to ferment and concoct several Chinese medicinal and edible plants, including goji (Lycium barbarum), carrot, golden imperial chrysanthemum and inulin, and a product was developed by optimizing the ratio of these plants through sensory evaluation. The flavor and functional composition as well as the antioxidant activity of these plants were enhanced after fermentation concoction by determining total flavonoids and phenolics, assessing the effects on DPPH, ABTS and ˙OH free radicals, and using metabolomics techniques, the molecular mechanism of which involved the probiotic increasing the content of the above compounds through 30 metabolic pathways. In conclusion, this study revealed that the probiotic fermentation method of concocting medicinal and edible plants could significantly enhance their sensory and functional qualities and also elucidated the molecular mechanisms involved, which might provide new ideas and insights for their sustainable development and research.