Functional fermented carob milk: Probiotic variability and polyphenolic profile

This study aimed to develop a synbiotic fermented milk with 4% carob powder (CB) as a functional ingredient and using Lactobacillus brevis as a new isolated probiotics strain. Physicochemical characteristics, probiotic viability, total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant capacity, antibacterial activity as well as the hypoglycemia activity of carob fermented milk were measured during a cold storage and gastro-intestinal digestion. CB addition to fermented milk improved the growth of Lactobacillus brevis and maintained their viability during the storage period (8 log CFU/g) and after digestion (7 log CFU/g). Carob fermented milk displayed higher TPC and higher antioxidant capacity during the storage. The digestion resulted in the release of bioaccessible phenolics where gallic acid (441%) and (+)-catechin (486%) were the most quantified phenolic compounds; thus, the inhibition of α-amylase (52%), α-glucosidase (37%) activity and higher antibacterial potential. These results demonstrate the potentials of carob fermented milk to be an important source of viable probiotics and bioaccessible polyphenols.