Influence of the composition of starter microflora on the formation and preservation of antioxidant properties of fermented plant drinks

Oat-based drinks are very popular among plant drinks. Oats have good nutritional value and contain specific indigestible carbohydrates that stimulate the growth of probiotics and beneficial intestinal microorganisms. Oat-based drinks are characterized by good sensory characteristics; fermentation of oat drinks with probiotic bacteria helps to increase the nutritional value and usefulness of the product. The efficiency of the fermentation processes is determined not only by the composition of the nutrient medium, but also by the species component of the lactic acid bacteria starter, which determines the relevance and direction of our research. As a result, it was established that the combination of lactic acid bacteria strains in the starter affects the dynamics of their biomass accumulation, the organoleptic properties of the products that are formed, their rheological characteristics and antioxidant properties, and determines their change in properties during storage of the probiotic product. The drinks have a low degree of syneresis - no more than 12 %. Antioxidant activity increases during fermentation with starter composition 2 - by 55.5 %, with starter composition 1 - by 162 %. During storage, the sample on starter composition 2 shows a tendency to increase antioxidant activity - within 81.9 - 90.3 %, in the sample on starter composition 1, antioxidant activity decreases - by 11.8 - 24.3 %. Thus, a relationship has been established between the combination of bacterial strains in the probiotic starter and the completeness of fermentation processes in a non-specific food system - the plant environment of the oat drink, which determines the need to consider possible interactions between strains to obtain a product with high consumer properties.