Fermentation of red pepper juice using probiotic bacteria.

The possibility to produce red pepper lactic acid fermented juice using pure culture of Bifidobacterium in comparison with a strain of Lactobacillus acidophilus separate and in combination was analysed on basis of the dynamics of the most important physicochemical and microbiological parameters, during the lactic acid fermentation. Starting from a glucose content of 5.29 g/100ml each strain induced breakdown of 5 times, in accordance with an accumulation of 1.2 -1.4 g/100 ml lactic acid and a microbial growth of 2 decimal orders. In combination the two tested strains worked better, the lactic acid accumulation and microbial growth being higher. The probiotic bacterial biomass accumulation was in all cases satisfactory (up to 1x10 10 C.F.U./ml after 48 hours). These results recommend the red pepper as raw material to produce probiotic lactic acid fermented juices.