Alteration in Phenolic Compounds and Antioxidant Activities of Aronia melanocarpa Ethanol Extracts following Fermentation Using Different Strains of Leuconostoc mesenteroides to Develop Natural Antibiotic Alternative

Antioxidant activity is important for reducing oxidative stress that causes various metabolic disorders. Metabolic disorders are highly related to loss of productivity in livestock. Therefore, development of effective antioxidant compounds originating from plants is important for organic agriculture. Phenolic compounds in edible plants are regarded as major components relevant to antioxidant activity. The present study investigated the changes in antioxidant activity and phenolic compound profiles of Aronia (Aronia meloncarpa) by fermentation using different strains of Leuconostoc mesenteroides. A total of 5 strains of L. mesenteroides were used as starter cultures and their β-glucosidase activities were measured. A total of 6 experiment runs were prepared, one for control (uninoculated) and the others (inoculated) for treatments. For biological activity, antioxidant and antibacterial activities were measured. For phenolic compound profiling, TLC and HPLC analysis were performed. The strains of KACC12313 and KACC12315 showed greater enzyme activity than others. Treatment with KCCM35046 showed strong and broad antibacterial activity against to Listeria monocytogenes. Treatments with KCCM35046 and KACC12315 showed the highest total polyphenol content. The highest antioxidant activity was found in KACC12315 treatment. No remarkable alteration was found in thin layer chromatography (TLC) analysis. In phenolic compound profiling analysis, KCCM35046 showed notable alteration in compound area ratio compared to others and also showed the highest caffeic acid content. In chlorogenic acid, treatments with KCCM35046 and KACC12315 showed great content than others. Treatment with KACC12315 showed the greatest content of trans-ferulic acid. As a result of relative performance indexing analysis, L. mesenteroides KCCM35046 and KACC12315 were selected as the best strain for the fermentation of Aronia.