Summary

In the present study Silybum marianum L. seeds were fermented using solid-state fer-mentation (SSF) with several lactic acid bacteria (LAB) of Lactobacillus and Pediococcus genera, isolated from spontaneously fermented Lithuanian rye sourdough. A possibility to improve sensory properties (flavour) of Silybum marianum L. seeds using LAB fermentation was in-vestigated. The composition of volatile compounds of the unfermented and LAB-ferment-ed seeds of this plant was analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Fermented seeds have shown considerable differences mainly due to the accumulation of higher alcohols. Total amount of phenolic compounds, flavonoids and 2,2-diphenylpicryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity of unfermented and fermented seeds were determined spectrophotometrically. The obtained results indicate that Silybum marianum L. seeds are a valuable source of bioactive compounds. The highest content of phenolic com-pounds and flavonoids (4596 and 1346 mg of rutin equivalents (RE) per 100 g, respective-ly) was determined in the seeds fermented with Pediococcus acidilactici KTU05-7 bacteria in solid-state fermentation. Silybum marianum L. seeds fermented with P. acidilactici KTU05-7 and Pediococcus pentosaceus KTU05-9 showed stronger antioxidant activity (1263 and 104