2.9.4. Sensory Evaluation

The data of the current investigation showed that, the fermentation process enhanced the taste and the flavor and consequently, the overall acceptance of LA-5 and ABT-5 fermented beverages compared to control beet-milk beverage. These results might be attributed to the formed lactic acid by probiotic strains [13]. On the other hand, no significant differences were detected in the acceptability of the fermented beverages and the control concerning color and consistency (Figure 6). So, the formulated fermented beverage-based-beetroots did not affect the sensory properties of the formulated functional beverage.


**Table 4.** Proximate chemical composition of control beet-milk and fermented beet-milk.

Different superscripts are significantly different at (*p* ≤ 0.05); \* Calculated as g/100 gm wet matter; \*\* Expressed in mg/100 gm dry weight basis.

**Table 5.** Total phenolics, total flavonoids, and DPPH% free radicals scavenging activity of control and fermented beet-milk.


Different superscript is significantly different at (*p* ≤ 0.05); TP \* (total phenolics), TF \*\* (total flavonoids) are expressed in mg/mL wet weight basis; DPPH % \*\*\*: % of free radical's inhibition ratio.

**Figure 6.** Sensory evaluation of control and fermented beet-milk beverages with LA-5 and ABT-5 probiotic cultures.
