DOES HIGH-INTENSITY ULTRASOUND INFLUENCE THE PROBIOTIC FERMENTATION AND FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES OF BARU ALMOND BEVERAGES?

Dairy products are one of the most consumed food categories. However, the demand for non-dairy products has increased, mainly driven by vegans and lactose intolerants. Food products are commonly subjected to pasteurization to ensure a safe product. However, pasteurization can impair the products' physicochemical, nutritional, and sensory characteristics. This study evaluated high-intensity ultrasound (HIUS, 450 W, 20 kHz, 6 min) as an alternative to the pasteurization of a water-soluble Baru almond extract (WSBAE), which was used as raw material in a probiotic fermented beverage (Lacticaseibacillus casei, 0.08 g/100 mL). Four formulations were prepared: WSBAE (water-soluble Baru almond extract), PAST (WSBAE processed by pasteurization and submitted to probiotic fermentation), ULTRASOUND-BEF (WSBAE added with probiotic, processed with ultrasound, and submitted to probiotic fermentation), and ULTRASOUND-AFTER (WSBAE processed with ultrasound, added with probiotic, and submitted to probiotic fermentation). The products were evaluated during 28 days of storage at 7 oC. This study was approved by the UEM ethics committee number 38348920.0.0000.0104. The experiment was repeated twice, and the analyses were carried out in triplicates. The data were submitted to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's test (p = 0.05). HIUS and PAST beverages showed similar microbiological quality. PAST beverage presented decreases in monounsaturated fatty acids and lower consistency. ULTRASOUND-AFTER beverage was more acid (higher concentrations of lactic and acetic acids), presented lower bioaccessibility of fatty acids and phenolics, and decreased consumer acceptance. On the hand, ULTRASOUND-BEF showed reduced fermentation time (13.64%), higher bioaccessibility of fatty acids and phenolics, improved functional (in vitro antidiabetic properties), technological (storage stability and consistency) and sensory (almond flavor, viscous texture, sweet aroma and taste) properties, and higher probiotic survival. It can be concluded that HIUS may be an alternative to pasteurization in the processing of non-dairy probiotic fermented beverages if the probiotic is added before the ultrasound processing.