The Effect of Stevia rebaudiana on the Growth and Survival of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 and Sensory Properties of Probiotic Yogurt

Abstract

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span><strong><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;; font-size: 10pt;" lang="EN-US"></span></strong>This study evaluated the effect of various sweetening agents on sensory properties of probiotic yogurt. The growth and survival of <em>Lactobacillus rhamnosus</em><em> </em>GR-1 in yogurt was measured at 1, 14 and 28 days of storage. Bacterial growth reached a range of 10⁸-10⁹ Colony Forming Units (CFU) ml^-1 over the storage period for six probiotic yogurt samples (0.12% stevia, 0.12% stevia-inulin-chromium (SIC), 1.0% sucralose, 5.0% sucrose, 6.0% xylitol and a control). Sensory panelists (n = 109) used a 9-point hedonic scale and evaluated five sensory characteristics (flavour, appearance, sweetness, texture, and overall quality) of the four sweetened probiotic yogurts (0.12% stevia, 0.12% SIC, 1.0% sucralose and 5.0% sucrose). The sucralose sample was significantly preferred for all five characteristics (P &lt; 0.001) and the sucrose sample was significantly liked more than both the stevia and SIC samples for all characteristics except flavour (P &lt; 0.001). Overall, the stevia sample received higher mean scores than the SIC sample.<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span>