Survival of different probiotic starters in blends of apple juice and vegetable extracts containing prebiotics

Abstract

Viabilities of three different probiotic starters (LGG, LA-5, and ABT-2) inoculated to the formulations (F1-9) based on blends of apple juice and some vegetable extracts containing fructooligosaccharide and lactitol were monitored during fermentation and cold storage. Storage quality and stability of formulations in terms of physicochemical and antioxidant properties and sensory evaluation were investigated. F7 (Apple Juice + Cucumber extract + Carrot extract; 1 : 1 : 1, v/v/v) was the most successful among the formulations in terms of probiotic growth with more than 7 logs CFU‧mL-1 for all starters after fermentation at 37 °C for 24 h. F8 (Apple Juice + Cucumber extract (1 : 1, v/v) + 2 % FOS + 4 % Lactitol) come second for only LGG starter. Among the starters, LGG strain maintained its required viability with more than 6 logs CFU‧mL-1 in the formulations (F7-9) during cold storage. The viabilities of LA-5 and ABT-2 with more than 7 logs at the beginning of the storage periods constantly decreased below 1 log and 3 logs, respectively. Antioxidant properties of the probiotic beverages did not change significantly during the fermentation and storage period. F9 (Apple juice + Cucumber extract + Carrot extract (1 : 1 : 1, v/v/v) + 2 % FOS + 4 % Lactitol) was the most preferred formulation compared to all other formulations.