In the present study, we developed new functional food materials from chickpea (Cicer arietinum) milk (CM) with desirable nutritional value, health functions, and rheology to mitigate lifestyle and age-related diseases. The anti-oxidant, anti-glycation, and bile acid-lowering properties of CM fermented with the lactic acid bacteria Lactiplantibacillus pentosus Himuka-SU5 (LpFCM) and Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis Amami-SU1 (LcFCM) were determined in vitro. L. pentosus Himuka-SU5 and L. lactis Amami-SU1 were found to lower the pH from 6.4 to 4.7 at 12 and 48 h, respectively. The lactic acid concentration in LpFCM and LcFCM was 6.9 and 4.4 mg/mL, respectively. Both starters were found to degrade the dissolved proteins in CM, and L. lactis Amami-SU1 produced ammonia. Though the total phenolic content was slightly lower in LpFCM and LcFCM than in unfermented CM, O-2(-) radical-scavenging capacity, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical-scavenging capacity, and Fe-reducing power were high in both LpFCM and LcFCM. Anti-glycation in a bovine serum albumin-fructose model and the bile acid-lowering capacities of CM were distinctly increased following fermentation. Based on the results of the present study, we inferred that fermented CM can be considered a desirable food material to prevent and ameliorate chronic lifestyle diseases, particularly in the elderly.
