This study examined the quality characteristics of fermented tomato by Lactobacillus plantarum. A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry dataset coupled with multivariate statistical analysis was used to investigate the metabolic changes in tomato during fermentation and to assess the possibility of its development as a processed product using non-marketable (immature and overripe) tomatoes. Non-marketable tomatoes exhibited higher 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl regent radical scavenging ability than the control tomatoes due to the higher polyphenol contents after fermentation. The metabolites of tomato changed rapidly until 48 hours after fermentation. Although the contents of some sugars, organic acids, and amino acids were different, the metabolite patterns between the non-marketable and control tomatoes were similar after fermentation. These results suggest that non-marketable tomatoes have development value as processed foods through fermentation by lactic acid bacteria, despite their inferior commercial value as a raw material.

Keywords: tomato, fermentation, non-marketable, GC-MS, metabolomics