Influence of green tea-enriched fermentation and cold storage on yogurt’s probiotic viability and metabolomic signatures

spp. viability was observed.Multivariate analysis demonstrated distinct group clustering, indicating clear metabolic divergence driven by the incorporation of green tea and fermentation in cold storage. A total of 86 metabolites were identified, which predominantly comprise polyphenols derived from green tea powder. Pathway enrichment analysis revealed that the synergistic interaction between LAB (lactic acid bacteria) and tea polyphenols during cow's milk fermentation significantly modulated multiple metabolic pathways, including central carbon metabolism, nucleotide metabolism, redox regulation, amino acid metabolism, and lipid metabolism, which are responsible for contributing enhanced nutritional and functional properties of yogurt. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10068-026-02138-4.