Fermentation of red pitahaya extracts using Lactobacillus spp. and Saccharomyces cerevisiae for reduction of sugar content and concentration of betacyanin content.

A study was conducted to concentrate the betacyanin in red pitahaya extracts by removing the coexisting sugars by fermentation. Four lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus acidophilus, L. casei, L. rhamnosus and L. plantarum) and a yeast species (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) were screened to determine their efficiency to reduce sugar content in red pitahaya extracts for concentration of their betacyanin content. A reduction of sugar content (19.8-56.4%) and increase in the yield of betacyanins were observed in all extracts as compared to the control, which was not innoculated with any microorganisms after 1 day of fermentation. The lowest total sugar content (26.40 g/L) was observed in extracts fermented by S. cerevisiae. Extracts fermented by S. cerevisiae also showed greater numbers of microbial cells (10.75 log CFU/mL) and a lower pH value (3.54) compared to those (6.89-8.48 log CFU/mL and pH 4.64-5.42) of the Lactobacillus spp. after 1 day of fermentation. An optimization step using response surface methodology (RSM) was then conducted using S. cerevisiae. Temperature, time and agitation speed were found to have a significant effect on the total sugar content and BC of concentrated betacyanins from red pitahaya, while the yield of betacyanins was significantly influenced by temperature and agitation speed. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-021-05116-2. © Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2021.