Agave juice improves survival and proteolytic activity of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG during ripening of semi-ripened mexican cheese

The importance of functional foods added with probiotics and prebiotics is directly related with the promotion of the health benefits of human. In this study the survival of the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG in a semi-ripened cheese added with agave juice, was determined. Cheese ripening was carried out at 14 °C for 35 days. The pH changes were measured and the hydrolysis of the protein was evaluated through the analysis of free amino groups by the trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS) method and SDS-PAGE polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. At the end of the study, in the symbiotic cheese, the viability of the probotic was increased in two logarithmic cycles (from 6.73 to 8.72 log CFU). A more active proteolytic process was observed with the addition of agave juice, due to the high production of low molecular weight peptides and the concentration of free amino groups (8.63 mg/L). The pH did not have a significant difference between the control and the cheese studied. With the obtained results, it is seen that agave juice is an ingredient that can be added to semi ripening cheeses with the objective of improving the survival capacity of probiotic microorganisms, which are used as starters.

Keywords:
Prebiotic; agave juice; ripened cheese; proteolytic activity; probiotic survival; symbiotic cheese