Feasibility study of producing and evaluation the quality properties of probiotic and synbiotic jelly containing Bacillus coagulans

In this research, jelly samples including probiotic (containing Bacillus coagulans), synbiotic (containing B.coagulans and galactooligosaccharide) and control (without probiotic and prebiotic) were produced and kept in the refrigerator for six weeks. Survival of probiotics was evaluated weekly. In order to confirm the safety, microbial tests including E.coli, Salmonella, S.aureus and lactic acid bacteria were carried out. Physicochemical properties of jelly samples including pH, brix and syneresis were considered for six weeks. Sensory evaluation was performed by taste panel assessment. The results showed that there was a decreasing trend of probiotics in probiotic and synbiotic jelly samples within six weeks. The samples kept their probiotic property until sixth week but it was more desirable almost until the fourth and fifth weeks. In safety microbial tests, no growth of the tested microorganisms was observed. Brix test results showed that the trend of brix reduction in probiotic and synbiotic samples was more evident than control from fifth week. This difference was also significant in the sixth week (p<0.05). The pH of the samples did not show significant difference before the fourth week (p>0.05). But after that, the pH of probiotic and synbiotic samples was significantly less than the control (p<0.05). According to the syneresis test, no syneresis was observed in the samples. The results of taste panel showed no significant differences compared to control by adding probiotic or prebiotic to jelly samples (p<0.05). Therefore, according to the results of this research, probiotic and synbiotic jellies can be produced with proper quality characteristics.