The trial for production of fresh cheese incorporated probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus group lactic acid bacteria

The present study is an attempt to produce a useful fresh cheese as a new food carrier for delivering probiotic Lactobacillus (L) acidophilus or L.gasseri cells to the human intestine. The tested strains (L. acidophilus JCN11047, 1132T and L. gasseri JCM11657) were selected from twelve human-derived strains of L. acidophilus group lactic acid bacteria through acid-and bile-tolerance tests. Simulated fresh cheese was made from the acidified reconstituted skim milk (15% total solid) mixed with the test strains and a small amount of rennet, and was stored at 7 degrees C over 4 weeks. Although the viable cell counts of the tested probiotic strains in the cheese decreased gradually from 6 x 10(8) cfu/g to somewhat lower than 10(8) cfu/g during storage, the remaining cell counts were at a satisfactory level for a probiotic food. The pHs of the cheeses containing each strain were maintained at a constant, but a slight increase in non-protein nitrogen contents was observed at different rates in the different strains used. The results indicated that the fresh cheese containing the human-derived L. acidophilus or L. gasseri with high tolerance for acid and bile was a promising food fora delivery system of probiotic bacteria.