Fermentation of plant-based foods: Microbial consortia and their impacts on composition, sensory quality, and health benefits of food products




Zhou, Ying; Tian, Ye; Yang, Baoru

Wang, Yaqin

PublisherElsevier

2026

 Advances in Food and Nutrition Research

How Plant-Based Fermented Foods are Shaping the Future of Health and Sustainability

Advances in Food and Nutrition Research

120

45

108

978-0-443-43214-9

1043-4526

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1016/bs.afnr.2026.03.009

https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.afnr.2026.03.009



Fermented plant-based foods have obtained growing interests for their improved nutrition profile, enhanced flavor and taste, as well as their health-promoting properties. Fermentation using lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yeasts can eliminate antinutritional components and off-flavor compounds present in plant matrices while also generating beneficial metabolites. The interaction between fermentative microbes and plant substrates is dependent on plant matrices, microbial strains, and processing conditions. Accumulating evidence indicates that fermentation modifies the generation, degradation, and bioavailability of food bioactive compounds such as bioactive peptides, vitamins, volatiles, phenolics, phytic acid and phytates, saponins, and raffinose-family oligosaccharides. This chapter reviews and critically examines research data on microbial transformations of bioactive compounds in fermented plant matrices and pinpoints key factors contributing to inconsistent findings. It also identifies key research directions for understanding and applying fermentation-driven changes to improve the nutritional and functional quality of plant-based fermented foods.



Last updated on 30/07/2026 07:33:39 AM