Evaluation of cheddar cheese as a food carrier for delivery of a probiotic strain to the gastrointestinal tract.
Cheddar cheese was evaluated as a food carrier for the delivery of viable microorganisms of Enterococcus faecium (Fargo 688; Quest Int., Naarden, The Netherlands) to the gastrointestinal tract. This strain had previously been shown to possess properties required of a probiotic microorganism including the ability to relieve irritable bowel syndrome. The strain was found to survive to high numbers in Cheddar cheese during ripening at 8 degrees C for 15 mo (4 x 10(8) cfu/g) and in yogurt during storage at 4 degrees C for 21 d (4 x 10(7) cfu/g). In an in vitro model system, Cheddar cheese was found to have a greater protective effect than yogurt upon exposure of the probiotic culture to porcine gastric juice at pH 2. Subsequently, a feeding trial involving 8 pigs per group was performed in which a rifampicin-resistant variant of the probiotic strain was fed for 21 d at a mean daily intake of 1.3 x 10(10) cfu/d from Cheddar cheese or 3.7 x 10(9) cfu/d from yogurt. During the feeding period, Cheddar cheese yielded a significantly higher mean fecal probiotic count (2 x 10(6) cfu/g of feces) than did yogurt (5.2 x 10(5) cfu/g of feces). These data indicate that mature Cheddar cheese compares very favorably with fresh yogurt as a delivery system for viable probiotic microorganisms to the gastrointestinal tract.
Gardiner
G
G
Teagasc, Fermoy, County Cork, Ireland.
Stanton
C
C
Lynch
P B
PB
Collins
J K
JK
Fitzgerald
G
G
Ross
R P
RP
D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D002611:Cheese; D016984:Enterococcus faecium; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D005750:Gastric Juice / Q000382:microbiology*; D005766:Gastrointestinal Contents / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D013552:Swine; D015430:Weight Gain; D015014:Yogurt