Conclusions
This research demonstrates that tomato juices can be fermented with selected bifidobacterial species alone such B. breve and B. longum as probiotic microorganisms. The addition of sugars such as FOS into tomato juice promoted the fermentation process, and presumably improved the tastes and off-flavors of fermented tomato juice. During fermentation, the lycopene contents in tomato juice were not affected by the growth of bifidobacterial species. Therefore, this research suggests that the tomato juice fermented with bifidobacteria can be developed as a potential probiotic product, and may benefit the consumers searching for an alternative beverage to replace fermented dairy products.