![]() Despite the existence of traditional drinks from Africa and the Far East countries made by spontaneous fermentations of cereals with native lactic acid bacteria, commercial products starting with cereals (Proviva – first non-dairy product, Skane Dairy, Sweden) to aromatic plants and fruit-based products have been already manufactured with defined probiotics (Prado et al. ![]() Therefore, developing new products of non-diary origin enriched with probiotics is considered to be a promising field of work (Bernat et al. In addition, the demand for vegetarian probiotic products, in particular in the developed countries, is irising with the increasing number of vegetarian consumers. Lactose intolerance and cholesterol content are the two major drawbacks related to probiotic foods based on dairy products (Betoret et al. Survival of these bacteria in the final product during shelf life and during digestion is an important consideration for proper selection of strains for food applications. However, in most industrial technological practices, fermentations are performed separately, and ready-to-use probiotic cultures are added into the final product. Ideally, in terms of costs and technology, probiotic bacteria should be capable of fermenting products by themselves. There are plenty of probiotic bacterial strains available with specific health benefits these are usually offered in the market in the form of fermented dairy products. In recent years, a growing public awareness about diet-related health issues has significantly increased scientific and commercial attention on microorganisms with beneficial effects on human health (Granato et al. In conclusion, apple juice was found to be an appropriate medium for fermentation by probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum PCS 26, resulting in a functional drink with potentially good sensory acceptance and shelf life. However, stability during storage of the fermented product at 4–7 ☌ improved, and the survival of immobilized bacteria, estimated by Weibullian model, increased to 32.1 ± 5.2 days compared to 22.0 ± 0.68 days in the free-cell fermentation. In contrast, entrapment of cells into Ca-alginate caused significantly slower growth, yielding a lower bacterial count at the end of fermentation (3.2 x 10 6 CFU/mL). Apple juice supplementation with 5 % v/v whey accelerated fermentation kinetics and resulted in a higher viable bacterial count. Malolactic conversion was commenced by the strain as energy yielding mechanism, thereby lowering the consumption of sugars below the limit of determination by the analytical method used. The best results were achieved by fermentation at an initial pH of 4.2, reaching maximal cell density of 2.5 x 10 9 CFU/mL and a final pH of 4.7 after 24 h. During the fermentation, growth kinetics, pH, sugars consumption and lactic acid production were measured, along with culture survival during storage. Fermentation was performed with free and Ca-alginate–embedded bacteria at different initial pH values, as well as with whey supplementation as a growth enhancer. ![]() In this study, apple juice was explored as a growth medium for cultivation of the probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum PCS 26 strain. ![]() Fruit and vegetable juices have proved to be promising carriers or growth media for probiotics. Studies on the development of non-dairy probiotic foods and beverages are continuously emerging.
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