Study on rheological, physicochemical and sensory properties of synbiotic ice cream using fibers from some fruit peels and Lactobacillus casei LC-01

A nutraceutical food may provide expanded utility beyond its nutritional benefit. These benefits are commonly attributed to the active components of the food. Fruit by-products are rich source of dietary fibers that have beneficial effects on human health. Also they can improve the growth and viability of probiotics in food matrix and therefore suitable to produce synbiotic food products. In this study, the effect of adding fiber obtained from apple, banana and mango peels at levels of 0.5, 1 and 1.5% on physicochemical and sensory features and the viability of Lactobacillus casei LC-01 in ice cream during 60 days storage at -18°C was investigated. Based on the results, all ice cream mixes were pseudoplastic fluids. The values of flow behavior index decreased and consistency coefficients increased by increasing the level of all mentioned fibers. The pH and specific gravity of samples containing banana and mango fibers were lower than control and sample with apple fiber. Using fibers had no significant effects on overrun values, whereas viscosity and melting resistance of ice cream samples increased with increasing fiber amounts. The most reduction in Lactobacillus casei LC-01 count after freezing and during storage period was associated to control sample and adding all types of examined fibers improved probiotic viability. Minimum cell reduction after freezing and during storage period occurred in sample containing 1.5% mango fiber with 0.03 and 0.48 log cycle respectively. Sensory properties of samples containing apple fiber were good and comparable with control sample.