The viability of probiotic lactobacillus acidophilus ifo 13951 and bifidobacterium longum atcc 15707 in gummy candies decreased during 4 weeks of storage

Abstract

In addition to fermented milk, incorporation of probiotic bacteria into other food products has been increasing in recent years. Incorporation of probiotic bacteria into gummy candies, a popular chewy gelatin-based candy, is aimed to increase the consumption of probiotics since they have many health benefits. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the viability of probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus acidophilus IFO 13951 and Bifidobacterium longum ATCC 15707 in gummy candies during storage. This research used a true experimental design to evaluate the viability of probiotic bacteria during storage at room temperature (25-30oC) and cold temperature (4-10oC). The viable cells of L. acidophilus IFO 13951 were counted with Rogosa agar medium, while B. longum ATCC 15707 was counted with Bifidobacterium Selective Medium. The results showed that the reduction of viable cells during 4 weeks of storage ranged between 1.15 to 1.95 log CFU/g. The highest reduction of probiotic bacteria was found in B. longum ATCC 15707 that has been stored in room temperature. Meanwhile, the viability of L. acidophilus IFO 13951 in cold storage temperature was higher than the other probiotic bacteria. Even though there were reductions in cell viability after 4 weeks of storage, the number of probiotic cells ranged between 6.27 to 7.03 log CFU/g. In conclusion, the number of probiotics in the gummy candy met the criteria of probiotic products based on the cell number. However, further study is needed to extend the self-life of this probiotic gummy candies.