Influence of autochthonous cultures on fatty acid composition, esterase activity and sensory profile of Argentinean goat cheeses

In the present work conjugated fatty acid content, atherogenicity index, esterase activity and sensory analysis of semi-hard goat cheeses manufactured with autochthonous starter and adjunct or commercial cultures were analyzed. The comparison of cheeses obtained with or without addition of autochthonous cultures reported statistically significant differences in the fatty acid profile and estersase activity that could be due to a different degree of lipolysis in the cheeses, but did not significantly affect the gross composition of cheeses. Short chain and polyunsaturated fatty acid content was higher in products with autochthonous than commercial cultures. The inclusion of these cultures into the artisanal cheese manufacture improves the conjugated fatty acid content, flavour and the atherogenicity index of the final product. Though, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) level, increased during ripening time in cheese containing autochthonous cultures from 0.6 to 1.0 g/100 g of fatty acids, offering for human consumers among 417-427 mg/100 g of cheese. Differences on esterase activity and atherogenicity index were also observed among cheeses, representing cheeses manufactured with autochthonous bacteria a healthier product than those elaborated with commercial cultures.