Development of a new oat-based probiotic drink.
In the present work, a whole-grain oat substrate was fermented with lactic acid bacteria to obtain a drink, combining the health benefits of a probiotic culture with the oat prebiotic beta-glucan. The levels of several factors, such as starter culture concentration, oat flour and sucrose content, affecting the fermentation process, were established for completing a controlled fermentation for 8 h. The viable cell counts reached at the end of the process were about 7.5 x 10(10) cfu ml(-1). It was found that the addition of sweeteners aspartame, sodium cyclamate, saccharine and Huxol (12% cyclamate and 1.2% saccharine) had no effect on the dynamics of the fermentation process and on the viability of the starter culture during product storage. Beta-glucan content in the drink (0.31-0.36%) remained unchanged both throughout fermentation and storage of the drink. The shelf life of the oat drink was estimated to 21 days under refrigerated storage.
Angelov
Angel
A
Department of Biotechnology, University of Food Technologies, 26 Maritza Blvd, 4002 Plovdiv, Bulgaria. angelov@uft-vio.com
Gotcheva
Velitchka
V
Kuncheva
Radoslava
R
Hristozova
Tsonka
T
D018554:Avena / Q000382:microbiology*; D001628:Beverages / Q000032:analysis* / Q000382:microbiology; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D005285:Fermentation; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007700:Kinetics; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D019936:Probiotics; D012034:Refrigeration; D013997:Time Factors; D047071:beta-Glucans / Q000032:analysis*
D047071:beta-Glucans