Investigation of the biochemical activity of starter compositions enriched with propionic acid bacteria on various raw materials

Currently, there is a need to develop an assortment of low-lactose or lactose-free dairy products and plant-based products due to an increase in the number of consumers with lactase deficiency, allergic to cow's milk components, cholesterol problems, etc. For the development of plant and lactose-free bioproducts, it is possible to use various starter cultures enriched with probiotics. Various starter cultures were used in the work, propionic acid bacteria were used as a probiotic. The objects were lactose-free milk and vegetable bases: rice milk, oat milk and coconut milk; the control was selected milk. A comparative analysis of the fermentation process of various compositions of starter cultures enriched with propionic acid bacteria on various raw materials was carried out. The duration of fermentation of vegetable raw materials is 8-10 hours, the acid-forming activity of combined starter cultures is quite high. The number of viable cells of lactic acid and propionic acid bacteria in the obtained bioproducts has a high value and amounts to 107-108 K.O.E. /cm3. This confirms that the nutrient medium for the cultivation of selected starter compositions is favorable, the microflora of the starter composition develops harmoniously. Lactic acid microorganisms and propionic acid bacteria make it possible to obtain fermented biological products with a variety of taste characteristics inherent in a certain type of raw material. According to the results of the research, the developed starter compositions meet the requirements for starter cultures, have valuable technological properties that allow expanding the range of plant and lactose-free biological products.