Search results

The purpose of this paper is to assess the growth and viability of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 (L. rhamnosus GR-1) in carrot juice (CJ), carrot apple juice (CAJ), carrot orange juice (COJ) and carrot beet juice (CBJ) over 72 h of fermentation and 30 days of refrigerated storage at 4°C. The secondary objective is to evaluate sensory properties.

Four vegetable juice samples were inoculated with the probiotic strain L. rhamnosus GR-1 and fermented for 72 h. To observe the samples’ storage ability, the samples were refrigerated for 30 days. Microbial enumeration was conducted throughout the fermentation and storage periods to determine the viability of L. rhamnosus GR-1. Sensory evaluation with 106 participants was also conducted to assess the consumer acceptability of the vegetable juices.

All tested samples achieved mean microbial counts of at least 109 CFU/ml. During the 72-h fermentation period significant differences in microbial counts in juices CJ (p = 0.001), CAJ (p = 0.031), COJ (p = 0.047) and CBJ (p = 0.001) were observed. Over the 30-day storage period, significant differences in microbial counts were only found in juices CJ (p = 0.001) and COJ (p = 0.019). A significant decline in pH (p = 0.001) was also observed during 72 h of fermentation and 30-days of cold storage. Sensory evaluation of all juices showed significant differences in sensory attributes such as appearance (p = 0.001), flavour (p = 0.001), texture (p = 0.001) and overall acceptability (p = 0.001). Sensory results showed that the probiotic CBJ and CJ had the highest hedonic scores for flavour, texture and overall acceptability (p = 0.001) among participants. This study demonstrated that non-dairy vegetable juices could be an alternative to dairy-based probiotic products.

Commercially available probiotic dairy-based foods make up a large sector of the consumer market. However, the growing consumer interest in healthful eating has led to an increased demand for plant-based products. The probiotic L. rhamnosus GR-1 provides numerous therapeutic benefits, such as reducing the recurrence of bacterial vaginosis, yeast and urinary tract infections. The results of this study may have a significant influence on the health of individuals, especially in less economically developed countries.

This study aims to determine the probiotic potential of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 from Fiti sachets, in four widely consumed pulses, namely, black-eyed pea, pigeon pea, kabuli chickpea and desi chickpea. The secondary objective was to determine the viability of the fermented pulses during 21 days of storage at 4°C.

Each pulse sample was mixed with a Fiti sachet (one gram of freeze-dried consortium of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 and Streptococcus thermophilus C106) and fermented for up to 120 h. To assess the samples’ storage potential, they were refrigerated at 4°C for 21 days. Microbial enumerations and pH measurements were collected during fermentation and storage to determine the viability and fermentation potential of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 and Fiti, respectively.

There was a significant (p = 0.01) difference in mean microbial counts in all pulse samples throughout fermentation. At 24 h of fermentation, the mean bacterial count of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 in black-eyed pea, pigeon pea, kabuli chickpea and desi chickpea were 1.32 × 10⁹ ± 0.11, 1.01 × 10⁹ ± 0.16, 1.52 × 10⁹ ± 0.14 and 0.80 × 10⁹ ± 0.05 CFU/mL, respectively. Fermentation of pigeon pea, kabuli chickpea and desi chickpea at 48 h yielded the highest bacterial count for Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 while black-eyed pea reached its highest bacterial count at 72 h of fermentation. The bacterial concentration of all pulse samples remained at around 10⁹ CFU/mL during the refrigeration period of 21 days at 4°C. Furthermore, the pH of all pulse samples were below 4.6 during both fermentation and refrigerated storage.

Since 2004, the Fiti initiative has economically empowered hundreds of women in East Africa by teaching them how to produce and sell probiotic yogurt containing Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1. As a result, Fiti probiotic yogurt was made accessible to vulnerable populations in East Africa who face malnutrition, infectious diseases and environmental toxins. Because of recent climatic changes, milk has become more expensive and inaccessible for local communities. Furthermore, this study found that black-eyed pea, pigeon pea, kabuli chickpea and desi chickpea can be viable and non-diary probiotic alternatives to the Fiti probiotic yogurt in Eastern Africa. This is also the first study of its kind to provide preliminary evidence showing pulses as non-dairy alternatives to Fiti probiotic yogurt.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of almond milk supplementation on the growth and viability of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GR-1 (LGR-1) in yogurt samples over 6 h of fermentation and 30 days of refrigerated storage.

Four yogurt treatments (T1–T4) were inoculated with the probiotic strain L. rhamnosus GR-1 and fermented for 6 h at 37°C and then placed in refrigerated storage at 4°C for 30 days. Microbial and pH analysis of each sample was conducted every 2  h throughout the fermentation period and on Days 1, 15 and 30 of cold storage to determine the viability of L. rhamnosus GR-1.

All samples achieved mean microbial counts of at least 108 CFU/mL during fermentation and storage. During fermentation, mean microbial counts increased for all treatments; however, differences in mean microbial counts between treatments were not significant. During storage, the mean microbial count for T4 at 15 and 30  days was significantly higher (p = 0.031) than microbial counts on Day 1. However, mean microbial counts did not differ significantly across all storage time points for treatments 1, 2 and 3 (p > 0.05). These results suggest that the addition of almond milk, in combination with cow’s milk, is suitable for propagating and preserving the viability of L. rhamnosus GR-1 in yogurt.

There is a consumer shift towards plant-based products due to health, environmental and ethical reasons. Almond milk is a popular nondairy alternative that provides enhanced nutritional value to traditionally dairy-based probiotic yogurts. L. rhamnosus GR-1 is an especially beneficial probiotic for women as it colonizes the gut and vaginal epithelium, promoting urogenital health, including preventing the recurrence of urinary tract infections and bacterial vaginosis.

The purpose of this study is to determine the viability of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GR-1 (L. rhamnosus GR-1) in five yogurt samples with or without quinoa, chickpea, soybean and rice flour over various fermentation periods and refrigerated storage durations, with a focus on exploring the potential of functional foods, which provide health benefits beyond nutritional value. Additionally, the study aimed to evaluate consumer acceptance of yogurt fortified with functional flour. Using a nine-point hedonic scale, from 1 (dislike extremely) to 9 (like extremely), participants rated appearance, flavour, texture and overall acceptability.

The samples were inoculated with the probiotic strain L. rhamnosus GR-1 and fermented for 0, 2, 4 and 6 h at 38°C, followed by refrigerated storage at 4°C for 1, 15 and 30 days, respectively. Microbial enumeration was performed throughout fermentation and storage to assess the viability of L. rhamnosus GR-1. A sensory evaluation involving 86 participants was conducted to assess the consumer acceptability of the yogurt samples.

Notably, L. rhamnosus GR-1 achieved viable counts of 108 colony-forming units per mL in all treatments at all fermentation time points. Over the 30-day storage period, no statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in average pH values were observed among the five treatments, and within each treatment, pH levels remained stable, with an overall mean of 4.2 ± 0.64. Treatment 4, which featured rice flour fortification, received higher hedonic scores from sensory panellists in terms of appearance, flavour, texture and overall acceptability. These findings indicate that incorporating functional flours in conjunction with cow’s milk effectively promotes and preserves the viability of L. rhamnosus GR-1 in yogurt.

Exploring the potential of probiotic yogurt enriched with diverse functional flours to enhance nutritional content and health benefits as well as attract new consumers, this study addressed a critical gap in understanding consumer perceptions and generated insights for creating innovative and health-promoting dairy products.

Increased evidence for the health benefits of probiotics for health restoration coupled with the consumer's inclination towards a safe, natural and cost-effective substitute for drugs have led application of probiotics as a pharmaceutical agent and are rapidly moving in clinical usage. In this context, this article attempts to highlight the potential of probiotics as a pharmaceutical agent.

Endeavor has been made to explore the significance of probiotics for the modulation of gut ecology and their action. Potentiality of probiotics for their exploitation as a pharmaceutical agent has also been justified. Limitations of probiotic therapy and the various considerations for probiotic therapy have also been delineated.

Probiotic organisms influence the physiological and pathological process of the host by modifying the intestinal microbiota, thereby affecting human health. Beneficial effects of probiotics as a pharmaceutical agent seem to be strain and dose dependent and more efficacious with their early introduction. Combination of various probiotics proved to be more efficacious than single strain for exhibiting prophylactic activities.

Reviewed literature indicated that it is difficult to generalize for the beneficial effect of all probiotics for all types of diseases as efficacy of probiotics is strain-dependent and dose-dependent and its clinical application needs long-term investigations.

Clinical trials have displayed that probiotics may alleviate certain disorders or diseases in humans especially those related to gastro-intestinal tract.

Ingestion of fermented dairy products containing probiotic cultures may provide health benefits in certain clinical conditions such as antibiotic-associated diarrhoea, rotavirus-associated diarrhoea, inflammatory bowel disease, inflammatory bowel syndrome, allergenic diseases, cancer, Helicobacter pylori infection and lactose-intolerance. Application of probiotics as a pharmaceutical agent is recommended.

Yoghurt is most popular and more acceptable throughout the world because of its general positive image among consumers because of its diverse nutritional and therapeutic properties and can be the most suitable probiotic carrier. Key factors for consumer’s inclination towards functional foods are increased awareness for healthy foods because of health deterioration resulting from busy lifestyles, growing healthcare cost and the aspiration for an improved quality life in later years. Yoghurt is still not consumed in certain parts of the world because of a lack of a cultural tradition of consuming yogurt and further people are not aware of the health benefits associated with yogurt consumption. In this study an attempt has been to project probiotic yoghurt as a functional food in the current era of self-care and complementary medicine.

Attempt has been made to review the literature on the biochemical activities of yoghurt cultures and their behavior in association with diverse probiotic cultures. Both review and research papers related to biochemical activities and functional properties of yoghurt cultures in association with probiotics and their health benefits published in diverse journals under Pub Med and Science Direct have been considered. Keywords used for data search included functional foods, yoghurt, probiotic, health benefits, etc.

Functional properties of yoghurt can be further enhanced with fortification of minerals and vitamins or inclusion of probiotic cultures. Diversity in biochemical behavior yoghurt cultures in association with different probiotic cultures has been reported. Conjugated application of probiotics with yoghurt cultures would result in a product with enhanced functional properties to extend health benefits.

Inclusion of probiotic cultures in yoghurt is suggested to extend the functional properties of normal yoghurt, thus providing necessary nutrients, improving health and preventing or reducing nutrition-related diseases. Regular intake of probiotic yoghurt is suggested for healthy lifestyles, as it will help in retaining their health and reduce the potentially long-term risk of disease. Food industries can have profit-driven business by projecting the probiotic yoghurt as a functional food.