Probiotication of Punica granatum (pomegranate) juice by lactobacillus plantarum

Abstract

Fruit juice enriched with probiotics is increasingly accepted nowadays, mainly due to its health benefit for digestive system. In particular, probioticated fruit juice is the good choice for those who are having lactose intolerant problem from milk based drinks. In the present study, the whole fruit of Punica granatum (pomegranate) has been probioticated with Lactobacillus plantarum at different fermentation temperatures (22ºC, 30ºC and 35ºC). The growth rate of L. plantarum has been monitored based on the optical density and acidity of the broth culture at 24 hours of time interval for 72 hours. The bacterial growth in the pomegranate juice was predicted by measuring absorbance at 600 nm spectrophotometrically and pH value by a pH meter. There was an increasing trend in the bacterial growth of L. plantarumincubated at 35ºC compared to other temperatures at 22ºC and 30ºC. The results also indicated there was no significant changes on pH during the fermentation as the bacterial strain was in adaptation process with the new medium and conditions. Meanwhile, the antioxidant assay showed that probiotication of pomegranate juice by L. plantarum significantly increased the radical scavenging activity. The pomegranate juice was shown to be a suitable substrate for L. plantarum cultivation at 35ºC.