## 2 Materials and Methods  
Principle Scheme of the Experiment and Materials Used for Preparation of Nutraceutical Chewing Candies  
The principal scheme of the experiment is shown in Figure 1. In the first stage of the experiment, different AJ products were tested (two types of '_Ligol_' variety AJ: (I) prepared from frozen apples (before juice preparation, apples were frozen at \(-18\)\({}^{\circ}\)C for 24 h), (II) prepared from fresh apples, as well as four apple cider (C) samples, prepared at the small industrial scale agricultural company 'Auseklis' (Ardiskis, Lithuania) using the same technology and the same variety of apples ('_Ligol_') (C-No.1 (1 December 2019), C-No.2 (4 December 2020), C-No.3 (28 October 2020), and C-No.4 (9 December 2020)). Apple cider vinegar (V) starter culture was obtained from the same company and used for the development of products combining acetic, alcoholic, and lactofermented apple products.  
During the first stage of the experiment, AJ and C samples were analyzed, and their pH, dry matter, overall acceptability, emotions induced for consumers, and antimicrobial properties were tested. Then, both of the tested AJ samples were fermented (24 and 48 h) with the antimicrobial LAB strains _L. plantarum_ LUHS122 and _L. casei_ LUHS210 [22] (in total, eight samples were obtained).  
The _L. plantarum_ LUHS122 and _L. casei_ LUHS210 strains were incubated separately and multiplied in De Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe (MRS) broth culture medium (Biolife, Milan, Italy) at 30 \({}^{\circ}\)C under anaerobic conditions. AJ (100 mL) was inoculated with 1 mL of LAB multiplied in MRS (average cell concentration 9.0 log\({}_{10}\) CFU mL\({}^{-1}\)) followed by anaerobic fermentation in a modified carbon dioxide atmosphere in a chamber incubator (Memmert GmbH + Co. KG, Schwabach, Germany) for 24 and 48 h at 30 \({}^{\circ}\)C. Fermented AJ samples were selected according to their overall acceptability, emotions induced for consumers, antimicrobial properties, and viable LAB count. In addition, the volatile compound (VC) profile, sugar concentration, and color coordinates of the fermented and non-fermented AJ were analyzed.  
In parallel to the experiment with AJ, C samples were tested. To select the most appropriate C for NCC formulation, overall acceptability, emotions induced for consumers, and antimicrobial properties were analyzed.  
Then, combinations of the selected AJ, C, and V were tested. Compounds were mixed at different ratios (Figure 1), and fermentation of the combinations for different durations was tested (24 and 48 h). The combinations were analyzed and the most appropriate one was selected according to overall acceptability, emotions induced for consumers, and antimicrobial properties. In addition, the VC profile, ethanol and sugar concentrations, pH, and color coordinates of the developed combinations were tested.  
During the second stage of the experiment, the selected combination was used to prepare NCC. For this purpose, several formulations were tested (Table 1), using two texture-forming agents (gelatin and pectin) and two sweetening agents (stevia and xylitol). To increase the intensity of the sour taste of the NCC, fresh pressed lemon juice was included in one of the formulations. To select the best NCC recipe, overall acceptability, emotions induced for consumers, texture, and color coordinates were analyzed.  
Figure 1: Principal scheme of the experiment.  
The LAB strains used in this study were previously isolated from spontaneously fermented cereal and showed a broad spectrum of antimicrobial properties [22].  
All the apple products tested (juice, cider, apple cider vinegar starter culture) were obtained from the small industrial scale agricultural company 'Auseklis' (Ardiskis, Lithuania), and stored at \(-18\)\({}^{\circ}\)C before use.  
Gelatin (Klingai, Kaunas, Lithuania) and pectin were obtained from Sosa (Rome, Italy). Xylitol was obtained from Natur Hurtig (Nuremberg, Germany), and stevia was purchased from SteviaBalt (Jelgava, Latvia).