DEVELOPMENT OF ANTIOXIDANT RICH PROBIOTIC DRINK: A BOOTSTEP APPROACH IN NUTRACEUTICAL
P. A. Gupta* and S. S. Pande
ABSTRACT
Probiotic formulation beckons the milk nutraceutical industries nowadays and India being the largest producerof milk has a vast scope in nutraceutical market. The objectives of the present study were to determine the effect of medically important herbs Tulsi or Kalmegh on yogurt fermentation, probiotic bacterial count and antioxidant activity of the fermented yoghurt during thestorage period of 21 days. Tulsi or Kalmegh water extact was mixed with milk (6%v/v) and the mixture was fermented with probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum to form herbal-yogurt. Changes in pH, total titratable acids and syneresis were monitored and the viability of probiotic bacteria was evaluated during refrigerated storage. Antioxidant activity was measured by 1,1-Diphenyl-2-Picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. The addition of herbs significantly increased the antioxidant activity of yogurts compared to plain-yogurt at all storage periods.The highest antioxidant activity was recorded for Tulsi-yogurt followed by Kalmegh -yogurt and plain-yogurt. The products thus developed have potential use as functional food enriched with antioxidants for consumers in international market.
Keywords: Probiotics, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium bifidum, herbal-yogur, antioxidant activity.
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