Fermentation of mung bean milk by Lactococcus lactis: Focus on the physicochemical properties, antioxidant capacities and sensory evaluation

Mung bean, a kind of leguminous crop loved by people, contains high nutritional values as well as medicinal properties. Mung bean fermentation by lactic acid bacteria is a meaningful attempt for development of novel functional foods. In this study, the effects of Lactococcus lactis RQ1066 (L. lactis RQ1066) fermentation on physicochemical properties, anti-nutritional factors, antioxidant capacities, amino acids composition, and sensory evaluation of mung bean milk (MBM) were investigated. We found that L. lactis RQ1066 had the potential of utilizing MBM as the fermentation substrate, which can change amino acids composition and sensory characteristics of MBM. The protein hydrolysis degree, solubility and antioxidant capacities increased after fermentation, while the anti-nutritional factor contents were decreased. Moreover, the aroma, taste, and state of organization were higher than those of unfermented MBM. Our results illustrated that L. lactis RQ1066 fermentation can enhance physicochemical and functional properties of MBM, which provided a promising approach for the deep processing of mung bean products and the increase of the added value of mung bean.