Study on Probiotic Icecream

Abstract

Use of probiotics in human diet benefits the consumers by regulating intestinal transit and immune system. Using various foods as a vehicle for probiotics has become increasingly popular practice. Based on these considerations, we wanted to study the possibility of obtaining icecream which contains viable microorganism cells with probiotic role. I chose ice cream because it is a product with a high nutrient content both for microorganisms and consumers. The main objective of this paper is to study the ability of different strains of probiotics to remain viable in the matured icecream compared to icecream stored at -5°C. Five samples of icecream were prepared, all after the same recipe. Molasses was used as a sweetener. The difference between the five types of ice cream consisted of the milk used, which was inoculated with different strains: Lactobacillus plantarum, Bifidobacterium infantis 4BN, Lactobacillus casei 4BN, Bifidobacterium breve 4BN and a mix prepared from the strains mentioned above. We determined the fat content of the icecream, using the butirometric method and its acidity by titration with NaOH. The results obtained were compared with the acidity and the fat content (determined using the Röse-Gottlieb extraction method) of the homemade icecream. Viable cell counting was performed by Trypane-Blue method and then the Fourier-IR spectra of the samples were evaluated. The cells of Lactobacillus plantarum strain and the bacterial cells in the mix proliferated the best, both in matured icecream and in icecream stored at -5°C. Most of the cells belonging to other strains of bacteria remained viable, but not all. Given these results, we can consider the molasses sweetened icecream as a suitable food product to carry certain types of probiotics.