Non‐volatile and volatile compound changes in blueberry juice inoculated with different lactic acid bacteria strains

Abstract BACKGROUND Lactic acid bacteria (LABs) are widely present in foods and affect the flavour of fermented cultures. This study investigates the effects of fermentation with Lactobacillus acidophilus JYLA‐16 (La), Lactobacillus plantarum JYLP‐375 (Lp), and Lactobacillus rhamnosus JYLR‐005 (Lr) on the flavour profile of blueberry juice. RESULTS This study showed that all LABs strains preferentially used glucose rather than fructose as the carbon source during fermentation. Lactic acid was the main fermentation product, reaching 7.76 g L−1 in La‐fermented blueberry juice, 5.86 g L−1 in Lp‐fermented blueberry juice, and 6.41 g L−1 in Lr‐fermented blueberry juice. These strains extensively metabolized quinic acid, whereas oxalic acid metabolism was almost unaffected. Sixty‐four volatile compounds were identified using gas chromatography–ion mobility spectrometry (GC–IMS). All fermented blueberry juices exhibited decreased aldehyde levels. Furthermore, fermentation with La was dominated by alcohols, Lp was dominated by esters, and Lr was dominated by ketones. Linear discriminant analysis of the electronic nose and principal component analysis of the GC–IMS data effectively differentiated between unfermented and fermented blueberry juices. CONCLUSION This study informs LABs selection for producing desirable flavours in fermented blueberry juice and provides a theoretical framework for flavour detection. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.