ABSTRACT
Lactic acid bacteria have been widely used in the modern food industry to change the flavour and nutritional content of food[9,10,11]. These lactic acid bacteria are edible probiotics that are beneficial to human health. Lactic acid bacteria are added to a variety of dairy-based products and fruits to develop new-types of drinks and foods[12,13]. Essentially, lactic acid bacteria perform a biotransformation process achieved by consuming sugars to produce lactic acid. The fermentation with vegetable juices or fruit juices as the raw materials, and lactic acid bacteria as the fermentation strains, can bestow a lactic acid flavour on the original juice flavour and increase the nutritional value, from the
1 INTRODUCTION
The mulberry tree belongs to the genus MorusalbaL in the family Moraceae; its fruits, which generally mature in late spring and early summer, have wrinkled skin and a sour-sweet taste and is juicy. The fruit contains nutrient materials such as glucose, fructose, sucrose, proteins and amino acid, and other functional compounds like vitamins, rutin, anthocyanin (especially cyanidin) and resveratrol, which benefit human health[1]. Mulberry fruit has a delicious taste, and the functional active elements in it can help the body prevent cancer and resist mutation, strengthen the body’s immunity, protect the kidneys and liver, improve looks and reduce skin aging, promote blood corpuscles to grow, and reduce blood sugar and blood lipids[2,3]. In 1993, the Ministry of Health of the People’s Republic of China listed mulberry fruit as an edible and medicinal agricultural product[4]. Therefore, mulberry fruit is not only a traditional Chinese medicine, but has also become a more popular food because of its abundant nutritional ingredients and being highly active physiologically.
