The activity of probiotic bacteria in different types of cheese wheys

Abstract

In recent years, the increasing demand for various types of cheese has resulted in making a large amount of whey which is, despite a significant nutritional value, still insufficiently applied in the daily human diet. As the chemical composition of whey can vary depending on the quality and type of milk, the type of whey (acid or sweet) and the cheese processing, the aim of this study was to evaluate the activity of ten probiotic bacteria in different types of cheese wheys. Inoculated samples were fermented at 42°C for 24h and pH and titratable acidity (0SH) were evaluated after 6 and 24h. After 6h of incubation all tested isolates showed a better activity in the liquid goat whey than in other types of wheys used in this study. A considerable difference in the activity was noticed in samples inoculated with species Lactobacillus reuteri, Lactobacillus johnsonii, Bifidobacterium bifidum and Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp. shermanii, which indicates that the composition of the goat whey is particularly suitable for the growth of these species of probiotic bacteria. Generally, it can be concluded that all types of wheys have the potential to support the growth of probiotic bacteria which gives the possibility for producing functional fermented beverages.