Effects of germinated and ungerminated grains on the production of non-dairy probiotic-fermented beverages

Non-dairy probiotic-fermented beverages were produced from germinated and ungerminated barley, highland barley and rice, which were germinated for 48–96 h at 30ºC, then dried, baked, ground, mixed and blended in a ratio of 3:2:1. Varying amounts of the mixture (0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 g) were added to soybean milk, peanut milk or coconut milk. Distilled water was used as a control. Sucrose (4 g) was added to each solution, followed by inoculation with Lactobacillus plantarum strain ZJ5 for 6 h. After fermentation, the pH, acidity, bacterial counts and antioxidant activity were measured and sensory evaluations were performed. Increase in the concentration of grain mixture to 8 g increased the pH, acidity, probiotic count, antioxidant content and polyphenol content values as well. The antioxidant capacity of germinated and ungerminated grain probiotic beverages was 1.08–1.26 mM and 0.69–1.08 mM, while the total phenolic content was 1.10–3.91 mM and 1.03–2.79 mM, respectively. The sensory evaluation scores of coconut beverages were higher than those of other beverages. Probiotic beverages containing 6 g of cereal mixture had the highest acceptability scores. Beverages containing germinated, as opposed to ungerminated, grains had higher nutritional value and better sensory qualities. The results highlighted the importance of germinated grains to improve the quality of non-dairy probiotic-fermented beverages.