Traditional cereal fermented beverages or gruels are manufactured worldwide. Inmost of the cases, fermentation occurs
spontaneously and involves mixed cultures of yeasts, bacteria and fungi, and the substrates for fermentation are mainly raw or gelatinized flour, and malted grains. The need for suitable LAB starter cultures and cereal-based raw materials has been recognized. Starter LAB would be suitable for the biopreservation of cereal beverages and, ideally, would be highly
antifungal, anti-mycotoxigenic, mycotoxin-binding and proteolytic (neutralization of toxic peptides and release of flavour-contributing amino acids). Moreover, the ability of synthesizing oligosaccharides, is amajor opportunity for the development of cereal-based prebiotic functional beverages to competewith and replace the existing dairy versions.
The chemical and nutritional properties of oat are well known, showing interesting features for processing. In particular, the high content of beneficial fibers, together with bioactive co-passengers, makes oat as an attractive component
of the diet. Soluble fibers from oat decreased the serum cholesterol, and the low allergenicity and suitability for celiac patients further increased the consumption. Nevertheless, more in depth knowledge on processing
oat is required to adequately handle the raw material for new products. Flaking is considered a suitable process, since it
is relatively simple and incorporates heat treatments that are needed to stabilize all the oat components. The potential of oat to be used as ingredient for making beverages and probiotic beverages has been only partially investigated.