99D-12 |
|
E. D. WILSON and S. A. Ibrahim. Food Science & Nutrition Program, North Carolina A&T State Univ., Dept. of Human Environment & Family Sciences, 171-B Carver Hall, Greensboro, NC 27411-1064 Probiotic or healthy bacteria have become very popular as additives to food products. Several reports have indicated that bifidobacteria have the ability to provide several health benefits such as prevention of carcinogenesis, improvement of protein metabolism, enhanced immunity, and prevention of intestinal infections. Growth of probiotics in the human intestinal tract may be enhanced by certain dietary supplements commonly referred to as nutraceuticals. The objective in this research was to determine if selected nutraceuticals could positively impact the growth of bifidobacteria probiotic cultures. Ginseng, origanox™, sage, green tea, and a mixture of essential fatty acid oils were obtained from a local health food store. Each nutraceutical (5.00g) was mixed in 500ml mMRS broth. Each was then inoculated with one of the following ten strains of bifidobacteria: two commercial isolates (CH-93 and BF-13), three B. longum (ATCC 15707, ATCC 15708, 79), two B. breve (ATCC 15700, ATCC 15698), and three B. infantis (ATCC 15702, ATCC 25962, ATCC 15697), to obtain a final inoculum level of 5 log cfu/ml. Control samples consisting of mMRS broth without any supplements also were prepared. Samples were then incubated at 37° C for 48 hrs. During the incubation period, samples were withdrawn every 2 hrs and analyzed for growth rate (optical density at 610nm) and acid production (pH value and lactic acid production). The experiment was repeated in a randomized complete block design to determine whether significant differences existed (p<0.05). Results indicate that ginseng and sage promoted significantly higher (p <0.05) growth and acid production of the tested probiotic strains when compared to the control. Origanox™ slowed the growth of probiotics during the initial growth period (6-12hrs). However acid production and growth rate were enhanced after 24h in the presence of origanox. Green tea inhibited the growth of all tested strains during the incubation period. The findings of this study suggest some nutraceuticals have a positive growth impact on bifidobacteria. These results indicate that it may be feasible to combine nutraceuticals with probiotic to produce greater benefits in some foods.
Session 99D, Food Microbiology: General
|