Abstract
The objective of this study was to develop a new low-calorie symbiotic beverage made from yacon (prebiotic source) and soy extracts, containing probiotic Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis BB-12. The synbiotic beverage was first produced with a range of sucrose concentrations in order to determine ideal sweetness by an acceptance test using a “just-about-right scale”. Sucrose was then replaced by sucralose or aspartame to produce sugar-free beverages. Characteristics including viable cell numbers, physicochemical properties, sensorial characteristics and fructoo-ligosaccharides content were investigated. The ideal sweetness of the beverages with sucrose, aspartame and sucralose were 7.28%, 0.0486% and 0.0167%, respectively. Sucralose exhibited higher scores in acceptance test and was used to replace sucrose in the low-calorie symbiotic beverage. The synbiotic beverage exhibited counts of Bifidobacterium spp. of 108 CFU.mL-1, sufficient condition to be considered probiotic. The chemical composition of the product was (g/100g): 2.91 of protein, 1.41 of fat, 2.41 of total carbohydrate; 0.82 of FOS and 148.22 Kj of energy value. The synbiotic beverage developed in this study may be successful in health applications, due to their functional ingredients (soy, probiotic bacteria and yacon prebiotics) that can afford benefits to health or can present disease-preventing properties, beyond their inherent nutritional value. In addition this low-calorie beverage can be consumed by diabetic individuals and people concerned about the ingestion of calories.
Highlights
Changes in the present day consumer’s life style have led to a vital change in market trends in the food sector
The objective of this study was to develop a new low-calorie symbiotic beverage made from yacon and soy extracts, containing probiotic Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis BB-12
The ideal sweetness of the beverage with sucrose accused at 7.28% sucrose (Figure 2(a))
Summary
Changes in the present day consumer’s life style have led to a vital change in market trends in the food sector. Aware consumers are seeking products with greater health benefits [1]. Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius) was not widely consumed until the 1980s, when some peculiarities were discovered in its chemical composition that could be beneficial to human health. The sweet potato-like have a high water content, reduced energetic value and, unlikely most tuberous species, which store carbohydrates in the form of starch, yacon has fructooligosaccharide (FOS) as its main reserve carbohydrate, known for its bifidogenic activity [2]. The potential uses of yacon for health have been under study, in view of its prebiotic properties [3]. Prebiotics is defined as “selectively fermented ingredients that allow specific changes, both in the composition and/or activity of the gastrointestinal microbiota, that confer benefits upon host well-being and health” [4]
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