Influence on physical properties and digestive characters of fermented coconut milk with different loading proportion of skimmed coconut drink using Lactiplantibacillus plantarum MWLp-4 from human milk mixing with commercial bacteria

Coconut drink as a milk substitute has been paid attention to as plant-based raw material on offering protein. Fat content could affect on properties of fermented milk. This study was to investigate the influence of different fat content of fermented coconut milk (coconut drink mixing with skimmed milk power) on textural and digestive properties. Meanwhile, we selected the strain of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum MWLp-4 from human milk mixing with commercial bacteria to obtain a fermented coconut milk with great viscosity. Interestingly, fermented coconut milk produced with the proportion of skimmed and full fat coconut drink of 3:2 displayed a better viscosity, but with the ratio of 2:3 showed high values on textural properties. Importantly, the fermented coconut milk with MWLp-4 addition obtained a better textural and digestive properties than coconut milk fermented only using commercial bacteria. Therefore, this study concluded that more acceptable fermented coconut milk could be produced from the proportion of skimmed and full fat coconut drink of 3:2 or 2:3, and the MWLp-4 strain will be a potential probiotic to reduce the content of gelling agents, thickeners or stabilizers addition.