Influence of different content of cheese whey and oligofructose on the properties of fermented lactic beverages: Study using response surface methodology

Lactic beverages have been used as an important vehicle for probiotics, and the utilization of cheese whey and oligofructose would contribute even more to the functional properties of this product. However, because of the short lifespan of probiotics, studies have been carried out aiming at the evaluation of the contribution of the prebiotics in the improvement of the viability of these microorganisms. The technological properties (fermentation time, acidity and syneresis index) and the population of probiotic bacteria in fermented lactic beverages manufactured with different content of cheese whey and oligofructose were evaluated. The results showed that oligofructose, at the concentrations evaluated in this study, did not show any significant influence on the response variables, whereas the content of cheese whey only influenced the syneresis index of lactic beverages.