Black Grass Jelly Encapsulated Lactobacillus plantarum Mar8 in Honey and D-Allulose Beverage Enriched with Mangosteen Pericarp Extract

Black grass jelly served in sweet syrup is one of the Chinese and East and Southeast Asian traditional beverages. An innovative enrichment can make it a better functional food. This study innovatively enriched the black-jelly food with formulas of probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum Mar8, honey, D-allulose and mangosteen pericarp extract. The probiotic viability, antioxidant and hypoglycemic potential were investigated as well.

Ready-to-drink functional beverages included mangosteen pericarp extract varied in concentrations of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 mg ml-1, D-allulose in honey and encapsulated probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum Mar8 in black grass jelly containing konjac and carrageenan. The probiotic viability, antioxidant activity and hypoglycemic potential were the selective parameters for the functional beverage formulas. The viability of probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum Mar8 was assessed using total plate count method. Antioxidant activity was assessed based on the reaction of 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging. Hypoglycemic potential was investigated by counting petite yeast cells after treating with black grass jelly formulas. Significant differences were reported using one-way analysis of variance and Duncan's test. Statistically significance included p-values≤0.05.

The probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum Mar8 encapsulated in black grass jelly survived well in the honey, D-allulose and mangosteen pericarp extract formulated beverages. Honey supported the probiotic viability better, producing further antioxidants and high potentials in hypoglycemia than that those of other formulas did. Mangosteen pericarp extract enriched the functionality of the black grass jelly probiotic beverages. However, further studies are needed to assess favorability and stability of this functional food. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.