Potential of high pressure homogenisation on probiotic Caciotta cheese quality and functionality

• High Pressure Homogenisation increased probiotic Caciotta cheese quality.
• High Pressure Homogenisation decreased the ripening time of probiotic Caciotta cheese.
• High Pressure Homogenisation did not affect the Lb. paracasei ability to stimulate IgA in mice.

The probiotic Lactobacillus paracasei A13, treated at 50 MPa sub-lethal high pressure homogenisation (HPH), was used as adjunct for producing Caciotta cheese. The cell HPH treatment was used because it has been proven to increase the in vitro strain functionality. The starters and Lb. paracasei A13 viability, the cheese hydrolytic patterns and organoleptic profiles were monitored. After cheesemaking and during ripening, the Lb. paracasei A13 gastric acid resistance in cheese and the ability of the cheese, containing HPH-treated or untreated cells, to modulate the gut mucosal immune system in mice were evaluated. Traditional Caciotta was used as controls. The HPH-treated probiotic strain maintained high viability for 14 days whilst the physico-chemical analyses on Caciotta cheese containing HPH-treated cells showed a faster ripening, compared to other cheeses. For functional properties, the 50 MPa treatment increased the Lb. paracasei gastric resistance in Caciotta, maintaining high strain viability, but IL-10 producing capacity was lost by HPH-treatment whilst IgA production was not modified.