Probiotic oats milk drink with microencapsulated Lactobacillus plantarum – an alternative to dairy products

Abstract

Purpose Interest in probiotic food products has constantly increased due to the awareness on importance of gut microbiome; an increasing demand has encouraged the development of other matrices such as cereals, vegetable and fruit juices to deliver probiotics. The purpose of this paper is to standardize and evaluate a ready to serve probiotic oats milk drink fermented with microencapsulated Lactobacillus plantarum to be further used as a therapeutic module. Design/methodology/approach Fermentation of oats milk extract with microencapsulated L.plantarum was subjected to various trials in making it favourable for consumption and tested for sensory characteristics, physicochemical parameters, nutrient content, viable colony count and shelf life. Findings Fermented oats milk drink with 3% inoculum of microencapsulated L.plantarum was able to achieve desirable level of 2.5 × 108 and 2.3 × 108 colony forming units (CFU)/mL for spice and strawberry flavoured drink, respectively. Antioxidant property significantly increased after fermentation showing inhibitory effect against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH) assay (p = 0.05). Research limitations/implications Analysis of all the parameters were conducted only with three samples; this was the potential limitation identified in this study as large sample size always be a better representative of the results. Practical implications Spice and strawberry flavoured nondairy oats milk drink facilitated to be a suitable carrier for microencapsulated L. plantarum with good sensory attributes, low fat, moderate calorie, high fiber content, antioxidant potential and a shelf life of two-week period at 4°C. Originality/value The developed ready to serve, spice and strawberry flavoured nondairy oats milk drink with compactly packed functional components inclusive of beneficial probiotic organisms, ß-glucan and antioxidants can be prescribed as a therapeutic food for many clinical conditions and would serve as a good probiotic option for vegans.