Probiotic Ice Cream Research Articles

Effects of fermentation by Bifidobacterium bifidum on the rheology and physical properties of ice cream mixes made with cow and vegetable milks

SummaryFermented and nonfermented probiotic ice creams were made by incubating Bifidobacterium bifidum (Bb‐12) culture in ice cream mixes with cow, soya, coconut and composite milks (combinations of coconut or cow milks with soya milk). The changes in ice cream‐eating qualities and physical properties (melting rate, apparent viscosity, hysteresis, fat globule size, zeta potential, microscopic structure and freezing behaviour) were evaluated. In general, fermentation decreased the melting rate and total acceptability of ice creams but increased the apparent viscosity, hysteresis, particle size and freezable water. For fermented ice creams containing composite milk, those containing cow milk showed a higher percentage change than those containing coconut milk in respect of hysteresis, particle size and freezable water; however, the apparent viscosity was not affected.

Effects of Different Levels of Refined Cane Sugar and Unrefined Coconut Palm Sugar on the Survivability of <i>Lactobacillus acidophilus</i> in Probiotic Ice Cream and its Sensory and Antioxidant Properties

In this study, probiotic ice cream are inoculated with Lactobacillus acidophilus (La-05; L), made with either refined (cane sugar; R) or unrefined sugar (coconut palm sugar; U) at concentrations of 15%, 18% and 21% (w/w). The changes in ice cream eating qualities, antioxidant capacity and the survival of La-05 were evaluated. Probiotic ice cream made with unrefined sugar had better microbial survival than when refined sugar was used. Ice cream made with 18% unrefined sugar showed the highest La-05 survivability. There were no significant effects on the sensory score among the probiotic ice cream with different sugar levels. However probiotic ice cream made with unrefined sugar was most preferred by panelists. The antioxidant capacity of the ice cream showed those made with unrefined sugar tend to have a higher antioxidant activity compared to those made with refined sugar. The replacement of refined with unrefined coconut palm sugar developed the viability of La-05, antioxidant capacity and total acceptability of probiotic ice creams.

Evaluation of physicochemical, sensory properties and survival of Lactobacillus casei in synbiotic soy-based ice-cream

Nowadays, people tend to consume functional foods for the treatment and prevention of diseases. Production growth of functional foods obliged scientists to research about production, distribution and preservation conditions of these products. Use of probiotic microorganisms in soy-based products may have advantages of both probiotics and soy on the human health. The probiotic soy-based ice-cream containing Lactobacillus paracasei was manufactured. Physicochemical and sensory properties of probiotic soy-based ice-cream and soy-based ice-cream without probiotic bacteria as a control sample were measured. MRS-Agar was used for enumeration of probiotic bacteria. There were significant differences in the density of probiotic soy-based ice-cream in comparison with control sample (P<0.05) but there were not significant differences in acidity, pH, fat, total solids, overrun and melting resistance of both ice-cream. Number of probiotic bacteria after storage during 180 days at -24˚C was 1×107 CFU/gr. There were not significant differences in sensory properties of probiotic soy-based ice-cream comparison with control sample. This study showed that the probiotic soy-based ice-cream is suitable vehicle for delivery of probiotics into the human intestinal tract.

Potentially probiotic ice cream from goat's milk: Characterization and cell viability during processing, storage and simulated gastrointestinal conditions

In this work, the physicochemical characteristics, meltdown behavior and sensory properties of goat's milk ice cream produced with and without the probiotic bacteria Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BLC1 were analyzed. The ice cream with added B. animalis was further evaluated in regard to the probiotic viability during processing, frozen storage, and simulated gastrointestinal conditions. Results showed that the addition of B. animalis decreased the pH (p < 0.05), but it had no effect on physicochemical properties, including overrun and melting behavior of ice cream from goat's milk (p > 0.05). After 120 days of frozen storage, a survival rate of 84.7% was registered. With regard to cell viability during gastrointestinal conditions, the exposure to bile and pancreatin resulted in the decline of 3.82 log cycles in ice cream samples previously stored at −18 °C for 120 days. Overall, the goat's milk ice cream with B. animalis received good sensory scores and satisfactory probiotic viability (6–7 log CFU/g) was maintained throughout the 120 days of frozen storage. Therefore, this research shows that goat's milk ice cream is an adequate delivery vehicle for the probiotic bacteria B. animalis.

Study on Probiotic Icecream

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.

Application of Lactobacillus acidophilus (LA 5) strain in fruit-based ice cream.

A study was performed to apply a probiotic strain into fermented ice cream mix with suitable fruit bases to develop a value-added product with a substantial level of viable organisms for a sufficient shelf life. Pure direct vat strain culture of Lactobacillus acidophilus (LA 5) in freeze-dried form was inoculated into a mixture of ice cream, frozen, and the number of viable organisms during frozen storage for a period of time was enumerated, using turbidity measurements with a spectrophotometer. An ice cream sample prepared without the probiotic culture was compared with the test sample for quality, by testing the basic quality parameters for ice cream. Results show a reduction in the over run of the probiotic ice cream compared to the nonprobiotic ice cream. Significantly high level (P < 0.05) of total solids (42%), proteins (16.5%), and titratable acidity (2.2%) was observed in the test sample compared to the nonprobiotic ice cream. Significantly low pH level in the probiotic sample may be due to the lactic acid produced by the probiotic culture. No significant difference (P > 0.05) in the fat content in the two types of ice cream was observed. A significantly low level (P < 0.05) of melting in the probiotic one may have resulted from less over run, than the nonprobiotic sample. Rapid reduction in the viable cells during frozen storage occurred at −18°C and gradual adaptation occurred over the first 4 weeks. At the 10th week, 1.0 × 107 numbers of viable organisms were present in 1 g of the probiotic ice cream. Results show the presence of a sufficient number of viable organisms in the product for the 10-week period, which would be beneficial to consumers.

Production of probiotic ice cream from goat's milk and effect of packaging materials on product quality

A chocolate flavored probiotic ice cream was made from goat's milk using a probiotic bacterial culture comprising Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5, Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12, and novel probiotic Propionibacterium jensenii 702, and stored in three different packaging materials: polypropylene, polyethylene and glass. In order to assess the quality of the product, viability of the probiotic bacteria, the physico-chemical properties and sensory characteristics of the product in the different packaging materials were measured during storage. The freezing process during manufacturing of the ice cream was associated with a reduction in viable cell number, however the viable numbers of all probiotics remained 107 to 108cfug−1 up to 52 weeks at −20°C regardless of the type of packaging. Packaging materials had a significant influence on the complete melting time of ice cream, and with the melting quality of the product as identified by the tasting panel, one week after production. The influence of packaging was not apparent in relation to other physico-chemical properties and sensory attributes of the product, while variation in certain sensory properties such as body and texture and taste of the product was apparent after 12 weeks storage.

Effect of Honey a Natural Sweetener with Several Medicinal Properties on the Attributes of a Frozen Dessert Containing the Probiotic &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Lactobacillus acidophilus&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;

Lactobacillus acidophilus has several health advantages. Honey has several medicinal properties and is also a natural sweetener which could be used in frozen desserts. There are various types of honey based on color namely, light, amber and dark. Influence of honey on attributes of a probiotic frozen dessert is not known. The objective was to study the effect of light, amber colored and dark honey on the Lactobacillus acidophilus counts and quality attributes of probiotic ice cream. Ice creams were manufactured with use of Lactobacillus acidophilus at 50 g of frozen culture concentrate per 7.75 liters of ice cream mix and with the use of light or amber or dark honey individually. Control had no honey and was sweetened with sugar. Use of honey increased Lactobacillus acidophilus counts and viscosity, while decreased pH and melt down volume. Light honey ice cream had flavor and appearance scores comparable to the control vanilla ice cream. Light honey can be recommended for the manufacturing Lactobacillus acidophilus probiotic ice creams thus having a frozen dessert with the health advantageous medicinal properties of honey.

Survival of Pro-biotic Microorganisms for Improvement of Nutritional Quality of Ice Cream

Pro-biotic ice cream was produced by mixing a standard ice cream mix containing 14% (w/w) cow's milk curd prepared using cultures of Lactobacillus casei and L. acidophilus. The ice cream mix was then chilled in a freezer and hardened at a temperature of −20 °C. The hardened ice cream was stored for 8 weeks at −20 °C and the survival of the pro-biotic strains and their activity for the improvement of the nutritional quality of ice cream were determined at regular intervals during storage. The viable cell counts of L. casei and L. acidophilus, viscosity, nutritional quality and sensory ratings were determined. Initially the pro-biotic bacterial count was 108 colony forming units (cfu/g) at the highest over-run and the highest cell counts were observed for L. casei (6.14×108 cfu/g). The cell count decreased slowly during storage. In the present study the ice cream samples retained >106 cfu/g of bacteria during storage for pro-biotic benefit. The B vitamin content was found to be increased from 20 to 320 µg/g during storage, whereas the survival of the microorganisms decreased from 8.9 to 7.5 log10 cfu/g.

Probiotics: Outweighing Pros and Cons

In recent few years, our markets had a boom of probiotic drinks and probiotic ice creams. The media and various endorsements can often mislead the consumers. We, as healthcare providers also shoulder a duty to decide and outweigh the pros and cons of this newly developed concept.

Application of principal component analysis (PCA) as a sensory assessment tool for fermented food products

The objective of the work was to use the method of quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) to describe the sensory attributes of the fermented food products prepared with the incorporation of lactic cultures. Panellists were selected and trained to evaluate various attributes specially color and appearance, body texture, flavor, overall acceptability and acidity of the fermented food products like cow milk curd and soymilk curd, idli, sauerkraut and probiotic ice cream. Principal component analysis (PCA) identified the six significant principal components that accounted for more than 90% of the variance in the sensory attribute data. Overall product quality was modelled as a function of principal components using multiple least squares regression (R (2) = 0.8). The result from PCA was statistically analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA). These findings demonstrate the utility of quantitative descriptive analysis for identifying and measuring the fermented food product attributes that are important for consumer acceptability.

Probiotic ice cream: viability of probiotic bacteria and sensory properties

Ice cream is a dairy product with good potential to act as a food carrier for probiotic bacteria. The incorporation of probiotic bacteria into ice cream is highly advantageous since, in addition to making a functional healthy food, ice cream in itself contains beneficial substances such as dairy raw materials, vitamins and minerals, and is consumed by the general population. Also, compared with fermented milks as a vehicle, ice cream supports considerably greater viability of probiotic strains during production and especially storage. However, losses in the viability of probiotic bacteria in ice cream unavoidably occur during product formulation, processing, storage and melting. During these stages, probiotic cells are subjected to different stresses related to pH, acidity, redox potential, freezing, oxygen (especially in overrun processing), sugar concentration and osmotic effects, hydrogen peroxide, antagonistic impact of co-cultures (in fermented ice creams), and mechanical shearing. It seems that the rate of loss of probiotic cells is greater during the freezing process than during storage. Practicing methods such as selection and application of oxygen-resistant probiotic strains, elimination of molecular oxygen (using oxygen-scavenging components, packaging material that is impermeable to oxygen as well as thicker packaging materials and active packaging systems), applying severe heat treatment, using microencapsulation techniques, and adjusting the product formulation (e.g., fortification of milk with nutrients and prebiotics) can increase the viability of probiotics in the final product. Supplementation of ice cream with probiotic bacteria has been found to have little effect on its flavor, texture or other sensory characteristics. There are also many ways to improve the sensory attributes of the product to compensate for any changes that do occur. This article reviews the viability of probiotic bacteria in ice cream and the main methods used to improve their viability and the sensory characteristics of probiotic ice cream.

Survival of Lactobacillus acidophilus LMGP‐21381 in probiotic ice cream and its influence on sensory acceptability

Probiotic ice cream was produced by incorporating Lactobacillus acidophilus LMGP‐21381 in a standard ice cream mix at initial population above 107 cfu/g. The ice cream mix was inoculated with either freeze‐dried or activated cultures of L. acidophilus and a control treatment without probiotic was also prepared. The product was assessed for the survival of the probiotic strain during the freezing process and during 45 weeks of storage at −15°C and −25°C, and also for its sensory characteristics. The results showed that the freezing process caused a significant decrease in the viability of the freeze‐dried culture, but no significant change in the viable counts of L. acidophilus was observed during frozen storage. The sensory attributes of aroma, taste and texture obtained high scores in the sensory evaluation. It was demonstrated that incorporation of either activated or commercial freeze‐dried L. acidophilus culture resulted in a candidate food for the delivery of high levels of this probiotic strain to consumers.

Production of functional probiotic, prebiotic, and synbiotic ice creams

In this work, 3 types of ice cream were produced: a probiotic ice cream produced by adding potentially probiotic microorganisms such as Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus rhamnosus; a prebiotic ice cream produced by adding inulin, a prebiotic substrate; and a synbiotic ice cream produced by adding probiotic microorganisms and inulin in combination. In addition to microbial counts, pH, acidity, and physical and functional properties of the ice creams were evaluated. The experimental ice creams preserved the probiotic bacteria and had counts of viable lactic acid bacteria after frozen storage that met the minimum required to achieve probiotic effects. Moreover, most of the ice creams showed good nutritional and sensory properties, with the best results obtained with Lb. casei and 2.5% inulin.

Sensory profiling and hedonic judgement of probiotic ice cream as a function of hydrocolloids, yogurt and milk fat content

Probiotic ice cream is a functional frozen dairy dessert with peculiar sensory characteristics combining the flavor and taste of fermented milks with the texture of ice cream. In this study, the effects of compositional parameters (hydrocolloids type and percentage, yogurt and milk fat content) on its texture and flavor were evaluated. The use of xanthan gum or hydroxypropylmethylcellulose at a level of 0.3 g/100 g in full fat (4 g/100 g milk fat) and low acidified (25 g/100 g yogurt addition) formulations is recommended to achieve improved creamy sensation, high textural quality and enhanced flavor. Based on hedonic and descriptive judgements, consumers' acceptability is mainly affected by ten sensory drivers including “sweet”, “sour”, “astringent”, “vanilla flavor”, “gummy”, “coarse”, “watery”, “creamy”, and “foamy”. Partial least squares (PLS) regression was applied to model samples overall acceptability using the descriptive analysis data. One generic and six related to each compositional parameter (hydrocolloids type, yogurt and milk fat content) PLS models were successfully constructed. The generic PLS model can be used for the quantification of the consumers' acceptability of probiotic ice creams and related fermented products whereas the compositionally restricted PLS models could be a useful tool for the purposes of R&D in the food industry to design and develop novel products.

Ice-cream as a probiotic food carrier

Ice-creams are food products showing potential for use as probiotic vehicles, with the added advantage of being appreciated by people belonging to all age groups and social levels. However, the development of ice-creams containing probiotic bacteria requires the overcoming of certain technological intrinsic requirements related to their processing stages. The aim of the present paper was to review the technological parameters involved in the production of probiotic ice-creams. Although the application of probiotics in cheeses, and especially in fermented milks, has been widely explored in the literature, ice-cream is a relatively innovative matrix for the application of probiotics, and thus a review about its potential as probiotic food carrier could be very helpful.

Effects of Inulin and Oligofructose on the Rheological Characteristics and Probiotic Culture Survival in Low‐Fat Probiotic Ice Cream

The effects of supplementation of oligofructose or inulin on the rheological characteristics and survival of Lactobacillus acidophilus La-5 and Bifidobacterium animalis Bb-12 in low-fat ice cream stored at -18 degrees C for 90 d were studied. Addition of oligofructose or inulin to ice cream mix significantly increased apparent viscosity and overrun and developed the melting properties in ice cream during storage (P < 0.05). However, the highest increase in firmness, the lowest change in melting properties, and the longest 1st dripping time were obtained in probiotic ice cream containing inulin (P < 0.05). Some textural properties have also improved especially by the end of storage. Freezing process caused a significant decrease in the viability of Lactobacillus acidophilus La-5 and Bifidobacterium animalis Bb-12 (P < 0.05). Oligofructose significantly improved the viability of L. acidophilus La-5 and B. animalis Bb-12 in ice cream mix (P < 0.05). Although the viable numbers for both bacteria decreased throughout the storage, the minimum level of 10(6) CFU/g was maintained for B. animalis Bb-12 in only ice cream with oligofructose during storage.

Short-term effect of ice-cream containing Bifidobacterium lactis Bb-12 on the number of salivary mutans streptococci and lactobacilli

Objective. Probiotic bacteria are thought to reduce the risk of some infectious diseases. The aim of the present study was to examine whether or not short-term consumption of ice-cream containing bifidobacteria can affect the salivary levels of mutans streptococci and lactobacilli in young adults. Material and methods. A double-blind, randomized crossover study was performed and 24 healthy subjects (mean age 20 years) were followed over 4 periods. During periods 2 and 4 (10 days each), they ingested 100 ml (53 g) ice-cream containing Bifidobacterium lactis Bb-12 once daily or a control ice-cream without viable bacteria. Periods 1 and 3 were run-in and washout periods, respectively. Salivary mutans streptococci and lactobacilli were enumerated with chair-side kits at baseline and immediately after the intervention period. Results. A statistically significant reduction (p<0.05) of salivary mutans streptococci was recorded after consumption of the probiotic ice-cream. A decline of high mutans streptococci counts was also seen after intake of the control ice-cream, but the difference compared to baseline was not statistically significant. The salivary lactobacilli levels were unaltered after both regimes. Conclusions. Daily consumtion of ice-cream containing probiotic bifidobacteria may reduce the salivary levels of mutans streptococci in young adults.

Survival of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum in Ice Cream for Use as a Probiotic Food

Probiotic ice cream was made by fermenting a standard ice cream mix with Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum cultures and then freezing the mix in a batch freezer. Survival of the L. acidophilus and B. bifidum, as well as β-galactosidase activity, was monitored during 17 wk of frozen storage at –29°C. After freezing of the fermented mix, bacterial counts were 1.5 × 108 cfu/ml for L. acidophilus and 2.5 × 108 cfu/ml for B. bifidum. Seventeen weeks after freezing, these counts had decreased to 4 × 106 and 1 × 107 cfu/ml, respectively. During the same period, β-galactosidase activity decreased from 1800 to 1300 units/ml.Probiotic ice cream was prepared at pH 5.0, 5.5, and 6.0 to determine consumer preferences and was compared with standard Utah State University “Aggie” ice cream. All samples were strawberry-flavored and were evaluated by 88 judges. The preferred pH of probiotic ice cream, based on overall acceptance, was pH 5.5.We demonstrated that probiotic ice cream is a suitable vehicle for delivering beneficial microorganisms such as L. acidophilus and B. bifidum to consumers. The bacteria can be grown to high numbers in ice cream mix and remain viable during from storage.