Background: The chemical synthesis of antioxidants has exposed more and more of their disadvantages. Therefore, the development of safe, healthy and efficient natural antioxidants has become a research hotspot. At present, antioxidant peptides are gradually becoming more popular due to their strong antioxidant activity and high safety.
Methods: The aim of this experiment was to obtain the optimum fermentation conditions for producing antioxidant peptides from Lactobacillus casei L61. The effects of various factors (fermentation temperature, fermentation time, concentration of regenerated milk and inoculum) on the production of antioxidant peptides by Lactobacillus casei L61 were studied using a single factor test. Four methods (DPPH radical scavenging activity, the ability to chelate iron, hydroxyl radical scavenging rate, total reduction force) were used to determine antioxidant activity in vitro. The optimum fermentation conditions were determined by orthogonal experiment.
Results: The results showed that the optimal fermentation conditions for the production of antioxidant peptides by L61 were 11% reconstituted milk, 5% inoculated milk, fermentation at 41℃ and 16 hours of fermentation time. Under these conditions, the results of the orthogonal test showed that the DPPH radical scavenging rate of the whey sample was 59.97 ±0.87%, which was higher than those of the other 9 groups, and significantly higher than that of the control group (41.97 ±1.37%).
Conclusions: The concentration of reconstituted milk and the amount of inoculated milk had a significant effect on the production of antioxidant peptides by Lactobacillus casei L61. It provides a reference for the optimization of the fermentation nutritional composition of antioxidant peptides produced by Lactobacillus casei L61.
Keywords: Lactobacillus casei; antioxidant peptide; fermentation; goat milk.