Potential Functional Snacks: Date Fruit Bars Supplemented by Different Species of Lactobacillus spp.

The influence of the addition of four different potential probiotic strains, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum subsp. plantarum (L. plantarum), Lactobacillus delbruekii subsp. bulgaricus (L. bulgaricus), Lactobacillus acidophilus (L. acidophilus) and Lactinocaseibacillus rhamnosus (L. rhamnosus), in date fruit-based products was investigated in order to evaluate the possibility of producing a functional snack. All bacterial strains tested were able to grow in date fruit palp, reaching probiotic concentrations ranging from 3.1 × 109 to 4.9 × 109 colony-forming units after 48 h of fermentation, and the pH was reduced to 3.5–3.7 or below. The viability of inoculated probiotic bacteria after 4 weeks of storage at 4 °C was slightly reduced. Some biochemical features of the fermented snacks, such as the total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant activity and detailed polyphenolic profile, were also evaluated. After fermentation, changes in the polyphenol profile in terms of increased free phenolic compounds and related activity were observed. These results may be attributed to the enzymatic activity of Lactobacillus spp. in catalyzing both the release of bioactive components from the food matrix and the remodeling of polyphenolic composition in favor of more bioaccessible molecules. These positive effects were more evident when the snack were fermented with L. rhamnosus. Our results suggest the use of lactic acid fermentation as an approach to enhance the nutritional value of functional foods, resulting in the enhancement of their health-promoting potential.