Effect of Inulin on Organic Acids and Microstructure of Synbiotic Cheddar-Type Cheese Made from Buffalo Milk
Mahad Islam, Maha A. Alharbi, Nada K. Alharbi, Saima Rafiq, Muhammad Shahbaz, Shamas Murtaza, Nighat Raza, Umar Farooq, Muqarrab Ali, Muhammad Imran, Shafaqat Ali
Abstract
The current study aimed to produce synbiotic cheese, adding inulin and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis as prebiotics and probiotics, respectively. The physicochemical analysis, minerals and organic acids content, sensory evaluation, and probiotic count of the cheese were performed during the ripening. The significant effect of inulin (p ≤ 0.01) was found during the ripening period, and changes in physiochemical composition, minerals, and organic acid contents were also observed. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the cheese revealed that inulin could improve the cheese structure. Meanwhile, inulin increased the likeliness of the cheese, and its probiotic viability remained above 107 colony forming unit (CFU) per gram during ripening.