Effect of prebiotic additives to carrot juice on the survivability of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium bacteria

The study is an attempt to apply Lactobacillus acidophilus DSM 20079 and Bifidobacterium bifidum DSM 20215 bacteria, of properties earlier characterised by the authors, to carrot juice with the addition of prebiotic preparations, oat gruel and homogenised banana fruit. The best survivability of the Lactobacillus acidophilus DSM 20079 bacteria up to the 28 th day of refrigerated storage was obtained in the carrot juice with the addition of oat gruel. However, the product obtained in this way, even though it fulfilled the requirements expected from probiotic products, obtained the lowest score of sensory assessment. Sensoric evaluation of the Lactobacillus acidophilus containing juice has shown that addition of homogenised banana to the juice beneficially contributed to its flavor and aroma. The number of the live bacterial cells of the Bifidobacterium bifidum DSM 20215 strain in the carrot juice supplemented with the prebiotic preparations exceeded the level of 10 6 cfu/mL of juice during the entire storage period.