Prato cheese with addition of Lactobacillus helveticus: Effect of culture preparation on peptide profile
Débora Parra Baptista, Mirna Lúcia Gigante
Abstract
This study evaluated the effect of the activation of Lactobacillus helveticus LH-B02 (40°C/18h), before its addition to Prato cheese manufacturing vat as an adjunct culture, on the cheese peptide profile. 62 peaks were detected in the cheese's peptide extracts by matrix-assisted laser ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) and the chemometric analysis of mass spectral data revealed that the addition of the adjunct culture to the cheese vat, either previously activated or not, modified the peptide profile of Prato cheese after 30 days of ripening. In general, the adjunct culture addition favored the release of β-casein derived peptides, particularly from β-casein C-terminal fraction, while reduced the relative intensity of αs1-casein derived peptides. The activation of the adjunct culture before its addition to the cheese vat resulted in higher differences in the peptides relative intensities than the direct addition of the adjunct culture without prior activation, when compared to the control Prato cheese.