Synbiotic Cocoa Cream Produced via Incorporation of Microencapsulated Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. Lactis and Inulin: Physicochemical, Rheological, and Sensory Properties

The use of microencapsulation technique and prebiotic compounds are among the methods used to increase the probiotics survival. This study was done to investigate the effect of combination of inulin as a prebiotic agent and inoculation of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis as a probiotic bacterium microencapsulated with sodium alginate, to produce a synthetic biochemical product with a health characteristic in cocoa cream. The study included inoculated samples that were prepared by microencapsulated B. animalis containing 2 and 3% of inulin and the control sample without it. The samples were kept at 4ºC for 6 weeks and acidity, viscosity, B.animalis survival, and sensory properties were studied on days 1, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42. It was found that in cocoa cream samples, acidity and viscosity were significantly increased and reduced, respectively, during the storage period. In samples with 2 and 3% inulin, reduced B.animalis was not significantly different, but this reduction was significantly lower than samples without inulin. After 42 days of storage at 4°C, there was no significant difference among sensory properties of samples including taste, texture, and total acceptability. The product had an appropriate physicochemical, sensory, and probiotic survival properties for industrial production.