Effect of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus L08 fermentation on xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity and flavour profile of honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica thunb.)

Xanthine oxidase (XOD) catalyses the oxidation of hypoxanthine and xanthine to uric acid, and inhibition of its activity has become the main strategy to reduce uric acid production. Honeysuckle (HON) which is rich in polyphenols potentially has the capacity to inhibit XOD activity. However, it carries the bitter and astringent flavor as well as many traditional Chinese medicines, along with that most of the polyphenols in HON exist in bound form, the exploitation and application of HON in food is limited. In this study, we investigated the effects of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus L08 fermentation on the bioactive components, XOD inhibitory activity and flavour characteristics of HON. The results showed that the XOD inhibitory activity was increased by 2.08 times after 96 h of fermentation. It was demonstrated that the increase in the total flavonoid content and total phenol content was the main reason for the enhancement of the fermentation solution's XOD inhibitory activity and antioxidant activity. Moreover, the fermentation also enriched the composition of volatile components of HON and reduced levels of undesirable flavour substances, which made the usage of fermented HON as functional food or in pharmaceutical use feasible and applicable.