Effects of Lactobacillus helveticus Fermentation on the Ca²⁺ Release and Antioxidative Properties of Sheep Bone Hydrolysate

Both the calcium and collagen in bone powder are hard to be absorbed by the body. Although enzymatic hydrolysis by protease increased the bio-availability of bone powder, it was a meaningful try to further increase $Ca^{2+}$ release, oligopeptide formation and antioxidant activity of the sheep bone hydrolysate (SBH) by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) fermentation. Lactobacillus helveticus was selected as the starter for its highest protease-producing ability among 5 tested LAB strains. The content of liberated $Ca^{2+}$ was measured as the responsive value in the response surface methodology (RSM) for optimizing the fermenting parameters. When SBH (adjusted to pH 6.1) supplemented with 1.0% glucose was inoculated 3.0% L. helveticus and incubated for 29.4 h at $36^{\circ}C$, $Ca^{2+}$ content in the fermented SBH significantly increased (p<0.01), and so did the degree of hydrolysis and the obtaining rate of oligopeptide. The viable counts of L. helveticus reached to $1.1{\times}10^{10}CFU/mL$. Results of Pearson correlation analysis demonstrated that LAB viable counts, $Ca^{2+}$ levels, obtaining rates of oligopeptide and the yield of polypeptide were positively correlated with each other (p<0.01). The abilities of SBH to scavenge the free radicals of DPPH, OH and ABTS were also markedly enhanced after fermentation. In conclusion, L. helveticus fermentation can further boost the release of free $Ca^{2+}$ and oligopeptide, enhance the antioxidant ability of SBH. The L. helveticus fermented SBH can be developed as a novel functional dietary supplement product.