Effect of Stevia rebaudiana on the Bioactive Compounds from Agarwood Leaf (Aquilaria spp.) by Lactic Fermentation and Spray Drying

Agarwood (Aquilaria spp) has high economic value. However, essential oil production from agarwood is a time-consuming process. Additionally, agarwood leaves have not been utilized even though they contain various bioactive ingredients. In this study, agarwood leaves were fermented using Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC 8014 with or without Stevia (4, 8, and 12%; v/v). The fermented fluid was mixed with maltodextrin (15%; w/v) and subjected to spray drying (inlet temperature, 120℃; outlet temperature, 65-70℃). The contents of polyphenols, polysaccharides, saponins, and flavonoids and the viability of L. plantarum were determined. Fermentation enhanced the levels of bioactive compounds. The contents of polyphenol (69.19 ± 4.05 mg GAE/g of sample), polysaccharide (20.75 ± 0.98 mg GE/g of sample), saponin (305.23 ± 4.21 mg OAE/g of sample), and flavonoid (7.86 ± 0.72 mg QE/g of sample), and the viability of L. plantarum (8.72 ± 0.17 log CFU/ml) were markedly upregulated in the samples containing Stevia (12%; v/v). This indicated that the supplementation of Stevia during fermentation decreases the fermentation time (9 h), upregulates bioactive compound production in agarwood leaves, enhances microencapsulation during spray drying, and increases the viability of L. plantarum under simulated gastric digestion conditions.