Atefeh Eslami-Moshkenani¹, Vajiheh Fadaei Noghani^1,*,  Kianoush Khosravi-Darani²
*Corresponding author
1. Department of Food Science and Technology, Shahr-e-Qods Branch,
Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2. Research Department of Food Technology, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology,
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box: 19395-4741, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The plenty of biologically important compounds in the algae, provide a new opportunity for producing functional dairy products. The main purpose of this study was to determine the effect of some incorporation variables on the survival of Lactobacillus acidophilus (La-5). So, Spirulina platensis powder (0, 0.3, 0.5 and 0.8 % w/v) was incorporated to doogh containing 0.5 and 1% w/v mint powder. Chemical properties (e.g. iron, protein, pH and acidity) as well as sensorial characteristics of the product were investigated. The results showed that viability of L. acidophilus remained at the standard amount in all samples containing Spirulina during 21 days of storage (p< 0.05). Incorporation of microalgae increased the iron and protein content of the samples. The increase in the concentration of Spirulina platensis induced a significant decrease in the sensory acceptability. According to chemical and sensorial analyzes and economical characteristics samples with 0.3%, w/v Spirulina were chosen as the best treatment.

INTRODUCTION

Spirulina (S.) platensis is the best known genus of cyanobacteria found in our environment with a high nutritional value as food (1-5). It consists of essential amino acids, natural pigments, fatty acids, enzymes, minerals (e.g. Ca²+ and Fe²+), and Vitamins A, B₂, B₆, B₁₂, E and K (1,5-8). Spirulina has been used as a food supplement in juices, cereals and bakery products, desserts, cakes, soups, salad dressings, and dairy products such as ice cream, fermented milk, yogurt, and dairy drinks (9).
Doogh is a traditional Iranian drink with special sensorial and nutritional characteristics. Incorporation of probiotics and natural prebiotics to doogh may lead to more beneficial health impacts for the host. To obtain the claimed probiotic benefits, survival of bacteria in processing and shelf life is the most important criterion (10). One of the most famous species of probiotic microorganisms is Lactobacillus (3).
The effect of S. platensis on the viability of starter and probiotic bacteria has been investigated in fermented milk (7-12), yogurt (5,13,14), probiotic yoghurt con ...