Influence of milk type and addition of passion fruit peel powder on fermentation kinetics, texture profile and bacterial viability in probiotic yoghurts

The effect of the addition of passion fruit peel powder (PFPP) on the fermentation kinetics and texture parameters, post-acidification and bacteria counts of probiotic yoghurts made with two milk types were evaluated during 28 days of storage at 4 °C. Milks were fermented by Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus (CY340), and one strain of probiotic bacteria: Lactobacillus acidophilus (L10 and NCFM), Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis (Bl04 and HN019). The addition of PFPP reduced significantly fermentation time of skim milk co-fermented by the strains L10, NCFM and HN019. At the end of 28-day shelf-life, counts of B. lactis Bl04 were about 1 Log CFU mL-1 higher in whole yoghurt fermented with PFPP regarding its control but, in general, the addition of PFPP had less influence on counts than the milk type itself. The titratable acidity in yoghurts with PFPP was significantly higher than in their respective controls, and in skim yoghurts higher than in the whole ones. The PFPP increased firmness, consistency (except for the NCFM strain of L. acidophilus) and cohesiveness of all skim yoghurts. The results point out the suitability of using passion fruit by-product in the formulation of both skim and whole probiotic yoghurts.

► The passion fruit fiber reduced the maximum acidification rate in all yoghurts. ► L. acidophilus exerted a symbiotic effect on L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus. ► The milk type influenced significantly the probiotic counts during the shelf-life. ► Passion fruit fiber did not show any clear effect on probiotic counts. ► The fruit fiber increased the cohesiveness in probiotic skim yoghurts.