Effect of Lactic Acid Fermentation on Enrichment of Antioxidant Properties and Bioactive Isoflavones in Soybean

The antioxidant properties of 80% ethanolic extracts from soybean obtained with lactic acid fermentation using ABTS•+ [2,2′-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonicacid) diammonium salt] free radical decolorization assay and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging assay were measured, and the relationship between the observed antioxidant properties and the compositional changes in the isoflavone isomers was evaluated. Fermentation of soybean with 4 bacterial strains producing β-glucosidase for 48 h at 37°C-Lactobacillus plantarum KFRI 00144, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. latisKFRI01181, Bifidobacteriathermophilum KFRI00748, and Bifidobacteria breve K-101-resulted in a significant increas (P < 0.05) in the antioxidant capacity expressed as Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) (mM) and % scavenging activity. The significant bioconversion (P < 0.001) of the isoflavone glucosides (daidzin + genistin) into their responding bioactive aglycones (daidzein + genistein) during soy fermentation was observed. There was a good linear correlation between the concentration of isoflavone aglycones and the scavenging activity of ABTS (R = 0.9045) assay, and DPPH (R = 0.8299) assay in each extract. Among each extract, B. thermophilum KFRI 00748 showed a particularly high antioxidant activity (19.8 mM TEAC) and increased by 4.1 times compared with that of the control (4.8 mM TEAC), which fermented without strains. These results indicated that fermented soybean could be regarded as a potent antioxidant and radical scavenging dietary source due to their remarkable content of bioactive isoflavones.