The influence of fermentation, natural and inoculated by two types of lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC 8014 and Lactobacillus acidophilus, NCFM), on antioxidant properties of red cabbages was determined and compared with those of their unfermented counterparts. Fermentation led to increased antioxidant activity, which was measured by using DPPH and TEAC method. Highest antioxidant activity was observed in red cabbages fermented with L. plantarum. The total content of phenolic compounds increased upon natural fermentation and was determined by the Folin–Ciocalteu method. Interestingly, in contrast to natural fermentation, for the red cabbages inoculated with L. plantarum and L. acidophilus, the total amount of phenolics increased slightly until day 7 of fermentation and gradually decreased for longer time of fermentation. Fermentation appears to decrease the level of total anthocyanins for all type of fermentation. Additionally, results of the HPLC analysis indicated the metabolism of phenolic compounds during the fermentation of red cabbages. Thus fermentation offers a tool to further increase the antioxidant potential of red cabbages.

In the present study, the influence of three types of lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC 8014, Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM, Danisco, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG E522 (ATCC 53103)) on antioxidant activities of fermented red cabbage sprouts was determined and compared with those of their unfermented/control counterparts. The fermentation resulted in a significant increase (p < 0.05) of antioxidant functionalities as measured by four assays: 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging, Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like, and β-carotene/linoleic bleaching. The most considerable shift in the antioxidant activities was observed after 24 h of fermentation. These increases were followed by a decrease in total phenolic compounds, anthocyanins, and L-ascorbic acid and by an increase in flavonoids, flavonols, and several phenolic acids (gallic, chlorogenic, caffeic, syringic, p-coumaric, trans-3-hydroxy-4-methoxycinnamic, and trans-o-hydroxycinnamic acid) content. The relationship between the antioxidant activities and the compositional changes in antioxidant compounds due to LAB fermentation was observed. Fermented red cabbage sprouts inoculated with L. plantarum had the highest antioxidant activities (DPPH scavenging: 70.92%; TEAC: 1.94 mM Trolox equivalent; SOD-like activity: 63.40%, and β-carotene/linoleic bleaching: 44.33%), which was almost two-fold higher than those of unfermented treatments. These results indicated that LAB fermentation could be applied as a method to improve the potent antioxidant activities of red cabbage sprouts.

Orthosiphon aristatus, an Indonesian medicinal plant, is normally used as a traditional herbal tea. Recently, this plant has begun to attract attention due to its antioxidant properties. However, little is known about tea fermentation effect on antioxidant properties of this plant. Thus, to extend the tea fermentation study, in vitro sprout culture of this plant was established as a new feature model. This model plant was selected based on three reasons. Firstly, as a native tropical plant, to grow this plant in sub-tropic area is considered difficult. Secondly, the in vitro sprout culture is more genetically stable compared to other types of in vitro cultures. Thirdly, results showed that this in vitro sprout culture grew faster and produced higher biomass than in vitro tissue culture. Both characteristics are important in producing tea leaves. Accordingly, the aim of the current study was twofold. First was to establish high rosmarinic acid line of in vitro sprout culture of Orthosiphon aristatus by elicitation. Second was to evaluate the effect of tea fermentation on antioxidant properties of this plant. Results showed that yeast extract (5 g/L) elicitation resulted in the highest production of rosmarinic acid. This elicited plant was subjected to partial and full tea fermentation. Results revealed that both tea fermentations decreased the level of rosmarinic acid, total phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and flavonols. These decreases were concomitant with reduced antioxidant activities as measured by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity, Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), and Superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like activity assays. HPLC results showed that the longer the tea fermentation was, the greater reduction rosmarinic acid was found. High correlation value of 0.922 between rosmarinic acid and antioxidant activities was also observed. These results indicated that rosmarinic acid is the major contributor to the antioxidant activities of Orthosiphon aristatus. These results may provide useful information, in particular, for the food and pharmaceutical industries in the development of functional foods desiring maximum potential health benefits from Orthosiphon aristatus.

High rosmarinic acid (RA) productivity has been achieved by applying jasmonic acid and yeast extract elicitors to the in vitro sprout culture of Orthosiphon aritatus (IOSC). The highest RA accumulation from three solvents was detected in IOSC after treatment with yeast extract (5 g/L). HPLC analysis clearly confirmed a drastic increase in RA subjected to yeast extract elicitation. Therefore, this yeast extract elicited IOSC was chosen for a lactic acid bacteria (LAB) fermentation study as a model system. This selected IOSC was subjected to different types of LAB fermentations (Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC 8014 and Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM) for different periods of time 24, 48 and 72 h. The LAB fermentations consisted of solid state fermentations (SSF) and liquid state fermentations (LSF) in a Digital Control Unit (DCU) fermenter system. The aim was to determine the effect of fermentation on the antioxidant properties of the plant extract. Results indicated that all types of LAB fermentation decreased the level of RA and total phenolics, however, a slight increase in total flavonoids and flavonols was observed in SSF samples. HPLC results confirmed that the longer the fermentation, the greater the reduction in RA content. The highest reduction was obtained in the sample of LSF inoculated with L. plantarum for a period of 72 h. The temperature of fermentation (37 °C) was predicted as contributing to the declining level in RA content. The loss in RA was concomitant with a loss of total antioxidant activity (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity, Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC), and Superoxide Dismutase (SOD)-like activity). These results indicate that RA is the major contributor to the antioxidant activity of this plant.

Cheese tea is a drink made from a combination of tea and cheese foam. This product is very popular today, and some businesses are interested in developing this product. The objective of this research is to identify the sensory profile of cheese tea through new methods in sensory evaluation: IPM, CATA and ESM. The CATA method is used to define the sensory profile and emotional characteristics of the cheese tea product and the IPM method is used to optimize the product by collecting the ideal customer information. The number of panelists used for each test was 30. The selection was based on the frequency of cheese tea consumption 1 to 2 times per week. Attributes will be gained via the focus group discussion (FGD). CATA data analysis was processed using XLSTAT software with CATA Analysis tools while IPM data was processed with SensTools.Net applications with tools for IPA analysis. The cheese tea products most favored by customers based on the outcome of the CATA are products with a sweet scent, a milky aroma, cheesy aroma, a milky taste and a sweet taste, as well as the dominant emotional 'calm'. Product cheese tea C is the nearest product to its ideal product characteristics. In order to further improve the product “cheese tea C”, it is necessary to boost the strength of the characteristics of the creamy mouthfeel, the viscosity of the mouthfeel and the aroma of the cheese while at the same time reducing the intensity of the toasted aroma, the milky aroma, the umami, the salty taste, the milky taste and the sweet taste.

The study was conducted to obtain an optimal combination of time and temperature of the drying process of indigenous cocktail yeast mold culture using RSM. The cocktail yeast mold culture was dried using an oven. The cocktail cultures contain Penicillium citrinum, Aspergillus niger, Acremonium strictum, and Candida famata, namely AC (Amylolytic Culture). The Response Surface Methods (RSM) with Design-Expert® 7.00 software, namely Mixture design with D-optimal was performed. The drying time was between 24- 48 hrs and the drying temperature was between 40-50oC. The total of 16 formulas of the combination of drying time and temperature for processing the dried cultures were produced by RSM. The response chosen was total viability of mold and yeast, water content, water activity, and pH. The result of optimization and verification was obtained by the model: pH (AC) = -0.058A - 1.56 x 10-003B + 7.13, where A = drying temperature ( oC), B = drying time (hr). The AC optimization was achieved at a combination of drying temperatures and time of 50oC for 48 hrs. Desirability values were 0.729. The optimum formula for AC has viability of total yeast mold of 7.39 x 106 CFU/g, moisture content of 5.62%, aw 0.303, and pH 4.18.