## 3 Results and Discussion
### Total Phenolics and Antioxidant Activity  
The results concerning the total phenolics content (TPC) and antioxidant activity (AA) of non-fermented and fermented pomegranate juice by _Lactobacillus plantarum_ ATCC 14917 are presented in Figure 1.  
Initial total phenolics content of freshly prepared pomegranate juice was about 111 \(\pm\) 10 mg GAE/100 mL. The total phenolics content (TPC) of the fermented pomegranate juice significantly increased during the 24 h fermentation and was higher in all 4 weeks of storage compared to the respective values of non-fermented pomegranate juice. Specifically, after the first 24-h fermentation, total phenolics content of the fermented pomegranate juice significantly increased to an average of 161.04 mg GAE/100 mL, compared to the respective value of the non-fermented juice (control) that was decreased to 97.94 mg GAE/100 mL, (Figure 1). This statistically significant increase of TPC of fermented pomegranate juice was observed also in all the weeks of storage time (4 weeks), reaching its maximum value at the 2 nd week (206.46 mg GAE/100 mL), while TPC of non-fermented pomegranate juice decreased to 38.43 mg GAE/100 mL at the 4 th week of storage. It has been reported in the literature that lactic acid fermentation enhances the total phenolics content of fruit juices including pomegranate [41; 42; 43]. Other researchers who have demonstrated the same outcome reported that improvements in TPC of pomegranate juice can be related to the increase in the free form of phenolic compounds through the fermentation and the production of new phenolic derivatives such as catechin and \(\alpha\)-punicalagin [37; 44; 45].  
Regarding the antioxidant activity (AA) of fermented pomegranate juice similar outcome was observed as in the case of TPC (Figure 2). Particularly, initial AA of freshly prepared pomegranate juice was about 90 \(\pm\) 15 mg TE/100 mL. During the first 24-h fermentation AA of the fermented pomegranate juice significantly increased to an average of 119.05 mg TE/100 mL, compared to the respective value of the non-fermented juice (control) that was decreased to 85.33 mg TE/100 mL (Figure 2). This statistically significant increase of AA of fermented pomegranate juice was observed also in all the weeks of storage time (4 weeks), showing an increase of approximately 32% the 3 rd week of storage (132.79 mg TE/100 mL), while AA of non-fermented pomegranate juice decreased constantly (approximately 60%) to 33.98 mg TE/100 mL the last week of storage. A possible explanation of this finding is that lactic acid fermentation ameliorated the AA of pomegranate juice which is in  
Figure 1: Total phenolics of fermented with _Lactobacillus plantarum_ ATCC 14917 and non-fermented pomegranate juice and at first 24 h at 30 \({}^{\circ}\)C and during storage at 4 \({}^{\circ}\)C for 4 weeks. GAE, gallic acid equivalents.  
accordance with other reports in literature [46]. Specifically, other researchers have demonstrated that some bacteria are capable of producing \(\beta\)-galactosidase catalyzing the release of phenolic compounds from the bonded sugar [47]. This process may lead to an increase in the antioxidant activity after fermentation [48; 49; 50].