the change in the substrate used and its contents. With regard to
the utilization of total carbohydrates, a reduction of 49 and 37% was
noticed with L. plantarum and E. hirae, respectively. The rate of
reduction was more pronounced with around 62% at all levels of
inoculum tested, indicating the symbiotic association between
these two cultures when grown together. With regard to the
growth of the lactic cultures, MLE or MLBBR beverage could support
the growth of lactics and an increase in the viable count by 2e3 log
was noticed.
3.1. Effect of dilution rate on the quality of fermented MLBBR
beverage
Although the MLE is nutritious, due to its leafy flavor and odd
taste, it is not palatable to consume in larger volumes in the form of
a beverage. In addition, autoclaving the MLE led to a change in the
color of MLE to pale green which was not appealing. Hence, it was
planned to supplement it with BRJ, which is also known for its
health benefits, to improve the color and also to enhance the
nutritional and functional attributes. To ascertain the best combination,
BRJ was added at different levels, i.e., 1:1, 1:2, 1:3 and 1:4
ratios and fermented with a culture combination of L. plantarum
and E. hirae. The pH of the beverage dropped from 6 to around 3.4
after fermentation, and significant change was not noticed in the
final pH of the product prepared with any ratio (Table 2). However,
the viable count of lactics was highest in the product prepared with
MLE and BRJ at 1:2 ratio. Addition of BRJ at 1:1 ratiowas found to be
not acceptable, as the beverage yieldwas very less, since the ground
paste of Moringa leaves absorbed maximum juice leaving very less
for separation. Likewise, addition of BRJ at 1:3 and 1:4 ratio diluted
the concentration of the MLE in the beverage. The unutilized TC
content was found to be more in the MLBBR beverage that had
higher BRJ volume (1:3 and 1:4 ratios), due to higher initial TC
content, and the growth of the lactics was found to be less in these