Production of oat bran functional probiotic beverage using Bifidobacterium lactis

Abstract

A non-dairy probiotic beverage based on oat bran extract was produced through fermentation of beverage using a probiotic strain Bifidobacterium lactis. Physicochemical characteristics, viability of probiotic bacteria, and sensory specification were investigated during three weeks of refrigerated storage with various concentration of oat bran extract and carbon dioxide in grape flavor beverage. It was observed that the acidity of the beverage samples significantly increased by increasing the percentage of oat bran extract and carbon dioxide, while the Brix decreased during storage and reached the lowest value after 21 days. The viability of the bacteria was significantly enhanced by increasing the amount of carbon dioxide and oat bran extract concentration until the 14th day after fermentation. The viability extremely decreased with increasing the storage time to 21 days. Oat bran is a rich source of nutrients including carbohydrates, protein, minerals, vitamins and soluble β-glucan. The use of oat bran as a profitable substrate to produce a non-dairy grape flavor probiotic beverage was examined. Due to high viability of the Bifidobacterium lactis after two weeks of storage at 4 °C, the formulation was characterized with 15% (w/v) oat bran extract and 1% carbon dioxide. The highest sensory score was obtained by 15% (w/v) oat bran extract and 0.5% carbon dioxide sample. Therefore, incorporation of the oat bran in formulated grape flavor probiotic could enhance the nutritional value of the beverage.