Development, characterisation and sensory qualities of probiotic beverage from provitamin A cassava () starch hydrolysate with free and encapsulated .

The suitability of hydrolysate (ready-to-drink beverage) from provitamin A cassava (PAC) starch as a carrier for probiotic () was evaluated. PAC starch was hydrolysed by α-amylase and glucoamylase. The PAC starch hydrolysate, fermented with free or alginate-encapsulated (at 37 °C, 48 hours), was evaluated for lactic acid production (using high-performance liquid chromatography), descriptive sensory attributes on a 9-point hedonic scale and total viable counts of cells in PAC hydrolysate during fermentation and storage (4 °C, 60 days). Analysis of variance was conducted and statistical significance was accepted at p< 0.05.Lactic acid was significantly (p< 0.05) produced in PAC hydrolysate with during fermentation (1980-5480 mg/L), and storage (up to 13676.90 mg/L). maintained significant viability in PAC hydrolysate after fermentation (9 log CFU/mL) and 60 days of storage (5 log CFU/mL). -fermented PAC hydrolysate showed significant overall acceptability of 49.56-56.33% in sensory attributes.PAC hydrolysate with showed significant acceptability and offered adequate support for the metabolism of , evidenced by a significant production of lactic acid during fermentation and refrigerated (4 °C) storage, with adequate viability. Therefore, PAC is a suitable non-dairy carrier for probiotic .