Effect of Storage on Probiotic Viability, Physicochemical and Sensory Properties of Probiotic-enriched Orange Juice

The effect of enrichment of orange juice with probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus bulgaricus as single and mixed cultures on the cell viability, physicochemical parameters and sensory properties of the juice during a 20day refrigerated (4oC) and room temperature (30± 2oC) conditions was studied. The viable cell count remained relatively stable at 4oC over the storage period for both strains but was at its peak after 10 days of storage at 30±2oC with L. bulgaricus accounting for the highest count (9.36±0.04 CFU/mL). The acidity of the enriched juice increased as the storage period progressed at 30oC with the highest acidity observed with L. bulgaricus (pH 3.00±0.02, titratable acidity 16.27±0.05mg lactic acid/mL). Sensory evaluation indicated that the juice enriched with L. bulgaricus was more acceptable. The study concluded that orange juice enriched with L. bulgaricus is suitable in the development of non-dairy based functional food and could act as an ideal food matrix for probiotic beverage.