Abstract
This study was conducted in order to determine the optimum conditions for the production of fermented grapefruit extract showing high cell growth, antioxidant activity and total flavonoid content. Five lactic acid bacterial strains - Lactobacillus plantarum KCTC3104, Lactobacillus brevis KCTC3102, Weisella cibaria KCTC3746, Leuconostoc citreum KCTC3526 and Leuconostoc mesenteroides KCTC3505 - were evaluated first in order to determine the optimum strain able to grow with high efficiency on grapefruit as a substrate and possesses higher antioxidant activity and flavonoids content. Among these strains, L. mesenteroides KCTC3505 was selected as a starter culture. To estimate the available or effective content of grapefruit in basal medium, the effects of 30%, 50%, and 70% grapefruit contents on the performance of fermentation were tested, and it was found that grapefruit can be added at 70% levels to medium. In this study, three factors of fermentation conditions - incubation time, sucrose, and glucose contents - were evaluated for their effects on fermentation performance. Taguchi experiment design was employed and the responses of experiments were calculated using signal and noise ratio calculation with larger-the-best characteristics. Finally, the optimum conditions for the manufacture of fermented grapefruit extract were as follows: grapefruit 70%, sucrose 10 g/L, glucose 10 g/L, sodium acetate 1 g/L, NaCl 1 g/L, dipotassium phosphate 0.1 g/L, magnesium sulfate 0.01 g/L and 16 hr of incubation.
