Biotransformation of soy whey into a novel functional beverage by Cordyceps militaris SN-18

Soy whey,a liquid nutritional by-product of soybean manufacture,is rich in proteins,oligosaccharides and isoflavones.Soy whey can be used to produce functional beverages,instead of discarding it as a waste.In this study,unfermented soy whey(USW)and Cordyceps militaris SN-18-fermented soy whey(FSW)were investigated and compared for their physicochemical and functional properties by high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC)and DNA damage assay.Results show that C.militaris SN-18 fermentation could increase the contents of essential amino acids,total phenolic and flavonoid and isoflavone aglycones and eliminate the oligosaccharides in soy whey.Furthermore,C.militaris SN-18 could significantly enhance the ABTS radical scavenging ability,reducing power and ferric reducing power of soy whey,and its fermented products could prominently attenuate Fenton reaction-induced DNA damage.These findings indicate that soy whey can potentially be converted into a novel soy functional beverage by C.militaris SN-18 fermentation.