Sun Xinping, Yu Jie, Xu Yunpeng, Chen Taizhi, Zhu Xuemei, Mu Guangqing, Qian Fang
School of Food Science and Engineering, Dalian Polytechnic University, Dalian, Liaoning, People's Republic of China.
Dalian Key Laboratory of Functional Probiotics, Dalian, Liaoning, People's Republic of China.
J Food Sci. 2025 Jul;90(7):e70393. doi: 10.1111/1750-3841.70393.
Inulin is considered a natural water-soluble dietary fiber, while Bacillus coagulans (B. coagulans) possesses the ability to break down lactose. This study investigates the effects of inulin and B. coagulans T242 (T242) on the microbiological, textural, and physicochemical properties of fermented milk stored at 4°C for 21 days. The fermented milk produced using traditional starters, specifically Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, served as the control group (CFM). Multiple indicators, including viable bacterial count, pH, titratable acidity, water holding capacity (WHC), lactose content, textural properties, rheological properties, and microstructure, were measured. The results indicated that, compared to CFM, the fermented milk with inulin alone (ICFM) significantly increased WHC and viscosity, while reducing hardness and lactose content, and delaying microbial growth and post-acidification. Compared to CFM, the fermented milk with T242 alone (TFM) promoted the growth of lactic acid bacteria while decreasing WHC, viscosity, hardness, and lactose content, and delaying post-acidification. The combined addition of T242 and inulin in fermented milk (ITFM) delayed the growth of lactic acid bacteria, enhanced cohesiveness and viscosity, reduced hardness, improved the WHC of the network structure of milk protein, and refined the microstructure of the fermented milk, despite this group exhibiting the highest lactose content during the later storage period. In summary, inulin can enhance the quality of fermented milk, T242 can reduce lactose content, but their combined use has an adverse effect on lactose breakdown.
菊粉被认为是一种天然的水溶性膳食纤维，而凝结芽孢杆菌具有分解乳糖的能力。本研究调查了菊粉和凝结芽孢杆菌T242（T242）对在4°C下储存21天的发酵乳的微生物学、质地和理化性质的影响。使用传统发酵剂（具体为保加利亚乳杆菌和嗜热链球菌）生产的发酵乳作为对照组（CFM）。测量了多个指标，包括活菌数、pH值、可滴定酸度、持水能力（WHC）、乳糖含量、质地特性、流变学特性和微观结构。结果表明，与CFM相比，单独添加菊粉的发酵乳（ICFM）显著提高了WHC和粘度，同时降低了硬度和乳糖含量，并延缓了微生物生长和后酸化。与CFM相比，单独添加T242的发酵乳（TFM）促进了乳酸菌的生长，同时降低了WHC、粘度、硬度和乳糖含量，并延缓了后酸化。在发酵乳中联合添加T242和菊粉（ITFM）延缓了乳酸菌的生长，增强了内聚性和粘度，降低了硬度，改善了乳蛋白网络结构的WHC，并细化了发酵乳的微观结构，尽管该组在储存后期表现出最高的乳糖含量。总之，菊粉可以提高发酵乳的品质，T242可以降低乳糖含量，但它们的联合使用对乳糖分解有不利影响。
