Production of saffron-based probiotic beverage by lactic acid bacteria

In this study the physicochemical, rheological, antioxidant, sensory and survival characteristics of probiotic saffron-based beverage were scrutinized during the fermentation process. Fermentation was carried on at 30 °C for 24 h using four strains of lactic acid bacteria; Lactococcus lactis, Lb. plantarum, Lb. brevis and Lb. casei. Results revealed that Lb. casei caused the most changes in growth kinetics and other factors like pH, acidity and sugar consumption followed by Lactococcus lactis, Lb. plantarum and Lb. brevis. Phenolics and antioxidant capacity of samples increased significantly during the fermentation process, while total anthocyanin content decreased significantly. Lb. casei survived much more time in the fermented extract in comparison with other strains and the total count of this bacterium was still in the probiotics limitation after 2 weeks of storage. Only the beverage fermented with Lactococcus lactis exhibited accelerated apparent viscosity compared to the other samples. Finally, in case of overall acceptance the beverage fermented with Lb. casei and Lactococcus lactis achieved best scores by pilots and other panelists. According to the obtained results saffron-based beverage is a suitable medium for the growth of lactic acid bacteria and production of functional beverages.