Utilization of Peach Juice as Substrate for Lactobacillus casei to Develop Probiotic Beverage

The probiotic L. casei is proved to be very effective against pathogenic microorganisms. Peach fruit is a packed with bundle of nutrients which can be utilized for medicinal purpose i.e. anti-cancerous, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammation, improve vision and to treat cardiovascular diseases. Objective: To develop peach based probiotic beverage. Methods: Peach pulp were fermented at different temperature using probiotic Lactobacillus casei to develop peach based probiotic beverage. The developed beverage was then examined for physicochemical, microbial and sensory characteristics. The obtained data was subjected to the statistical analysis. Results: The pH, sugar acid ratio, total soluble solids and total sugars decreased significantly throughout the storage period whereas acidity, total plate count and total probiotic count was increased significantly. Total plate count and probiotic count ranged from 5.27 to 9.83 CFU/mL and 8.29 to 12.68 CFU/mL, respectively. As the sensory properties of developed beverage are concerned; color, taste, flavor, odor and overall acceptability decreased significantly throughout storage period. The T2 was assigned maximum scores by the panelists for the sensory characteristics. Conclusions: It was concluded that peach based probiotic beverage can be developed by using isolated Lactobacillus casei.