Influence of Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation on the chemical composition and nutritional value of fruit and berry raw materials

Fermentation is considered a traditional processing method to increase the shelf life of food products and improve the taste of food raw materials. Fruits and berries contain many nutrients and are an acceptable substrate for fermentation by lactic acid bacteria. Lactiplantibacillus plantarum is used as a starter or additional culture for the fermentation process of raw materials of plant and animal origin due to its environmental stability and metabolic versatility. The aim of the study is to review the results of scientific studies of the effect of L. plantarum fermentation on the chemical composition, bioactive compounds, volatile compounds and organoleptic properties of fruits and berries. The material for this study was 49 scientific publications. The search for scientific literature in English and Russian on the topic of the study was carried out in the bibliographic databases Scopus, Web of science, PubMed and Google Scholar. The period 2019– 2025 was adopted as the time frame for the review of scientific publications. An algorithm in accordance with the PRIZMA protocol was used to review the subject field of the conducted study. Scientific search and review of scientific publications on the topic of the study showed that L. plantarum is an effective probiotic for the fermentation of carbohydrate-rich fruit substrates in order to improve the taste and functionality of fruit products due to microbial activity. Fruits fermented with L. plantarum contain many volatile substances, have a higher content of functional compounds and exhibit better biological activity, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory effects on intestinal microflora, compared with unfermented fruits. Review and analysis of the chemical composition of fermented products, their nutritional value provides the necessary information for the development of functional foods based on fruits processed by fermentation using L. plantarum. At the same time, it should be noted that there is no analysis and scientific conclusions about the strain specificity of L. plantarum in metabolism, the safety of L. plantarum fermented fruit products, and the characteristics of changes in the aroma of various fruits after fermentation with L. plantarum. Future research should focus on toxicology, immunology and molecular nutrition techniques to analyze in detail the functionality of various fermented fruit and vegetable products and to establish the metabolic characteristics of different L. plantarum strains. The results of future research will contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the health benefits of L. plantarum fermented fruit products for humans and to the development and production of quality functional foods.

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