28 p.-5 figFermented oat-based foods offer attractive prospects within the market of non-dairy functional products, since they are suitable substrates for the delivery of probiotic microorganisms, and are significant sources of dietary fiber, both insoluble and soluble such as β-glucan, good quality fat and other phytochemicals important for human health.In the present work, whole oat flour was fermented with probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum strains to produce new functional foods with improved nutritional and technological features. Viability of the probiotic and the main technological, physico-chemical, nutritional and sensorial parameters were monitored at 7, 14 and 21 days of cold storage. The microbial survival was higher than 5x108 cfu g−1 at the end of the shelf life. After the fermentation step, viscosity was higher in products inoculated with the exopolysaccharide-producing L. plantarum strain Lp90. However, a subsequent viscosity reduction was detected in all the samples throughout the storage period, consistent with the observed concentration decrease of the oat β-glucan. Vitamin B2 content was about two-fold higher in products fermented by the riboflavin-overproducing LpB2, and in these samples the riboflavin concentration further increased during cold storage.P.L., G.S. and M.T. are supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness grant AGL2012-40084-C03.Peer reviewe

Botrytis cinerea, responsible for grey mold, represents the first biological cause of fruit and vegetable spoilage phenomena in post-harvest. Kiwifruit is a climacteric fruit particularly prone to this mold infestation during storage. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are food-grade bacteria that can synthesize several metabolites with antimicrobial activity and are, therefore, suggested as promising and eco-friendly resources for the bio-control of molds on fruits and vegetables. In this work, we propose the screening of a collection of 300 LAB previously isolated from traditional sourdoughs for their ability to counteract in vitro the growth of Botrytis cinerea CECT 20973. Only 2% of tested LAB strains belonging to Lactiplantibacillus plantarum species, exerted a strong antagonism against B. cinerea. The cell-free supernatants were partially characterized and results clearly indicated that high levels of lactic acid contributed to the antagonistic activity. PAN01 and UFG 121 cell-free supernatants were investigated as potential bio-control agents in a preliminary in vivo assay using freshly cut kiwifruits as a food model. The application of cell-free supernatants allowed to delay the growth of B. cinerea on artificially contaminated kiwifruits until two weeks. The antagonistic activity was greatly affected by the storage temperature (25 °C and 4 °C) selected for the processed fruits, suggesting the importance to include microbial-based solution in a broader framework of hurdle technologies.