Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation to reduce anti-nutritional contents in peanut, mustard and sesame

Introduction and Aim: Oilseeds are an important source of nutrition in developing countries, which are either consumed directly or as snacks. However, the presence of anti-nutritional factors limits their use. This study evaluated the potential application of probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum in reducing the anti-nutritional content in peanut, mustard and sesame.   Materials and Methods: Peanuts, sesame and mustard seeds were coarsely ground, defatted by Soxhlet extraction method using hexane and fermented by submerged fermentation method using Lactobacillus plantarum. After fermentation for 72hrs, the contents were centrifuged and the pellets in addition to defatted raw sample were analyzed for anti-nutrients like polyphenols, oxalates, trypsin inhibitors and lectins using standard protocols.   Results: Polyphenol content was reduced by 26.40, 46.70 and 41.50%, while oxalate content exhibited 61.50, 32.70 and 37.70% reduction in peanut, mustard and sesame respectively. Trypsin inhibitor activity was reduced by 80.00, 12.13 and 77.78%, while lectin exhibited 87.50, 62.50 and 64.87% reduction in peanut, mustard and sesame respectively.   Conclusion: Peanut showed maximum reduction in oxalates, trypsin inhibitors and lectins followed by sesame and mustard. However, highest polyphenol reduction was exhibited in sesame. Hence, from the present investigation, it is found that fermentation may be a promising tool in reducing anti-nutritional factors from oil seeds.