Seabuckthorn as a novel prebiotic source improves probiotic viability in yogurt

- Seabuckthorn addition enhanced probiotic counts in yogurts.
- Seabuckthorn crude mucilage exhibited strong antioxidant activity.
- Seabuckthorn may serve as a new prebiotic source for functional foods.

It was aimed to i) investigate if seabuckthorn whole fruit (S), and seabuckthorn purified mucilage (SP) addition into yogurt enhance bacterial viability, by measuring total bacterial counts of different yogurt trials on selective media, pH and total titratable acidity (TTA) during 28 day cold storage at 4 °C, as well as ii) measure antioxidant activities of microwave extracted seabuckthorn crude mucilage (SC) and SP using oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and DPPH scavenging activity. After 21 days of cold storage, yogurts with S and SP maintained higher viable bacteria counts in both of probiotics, Lactobacillus acidophilus (9.3 log cfu/mL) and Bifidobacterium lactis (9.2 log cfu/mL), higher TTA (0.8%), and lower pH (5.0) compared to the controls (P < 0.05). SC exhibited strong antioxidant activity with an ORAC value of 138.9 μmol Trolox equivalents/100 g, and a %DPPH scavenging activity value of 37.0%. Results of this study suggest S may serve as a new prebiotic source for functional foods and nutraceutical applications.