Arthrospira platensis as Natural Fermentation Booster for Milk and Soy Fermented Beverages

Abstract

Arthrospira platensis, commercially known as Spirulina, is a fresh-water cyanobacterium that has been gaining increasing attention in recent years due to its high biological and nutritional value. For this reason, it has been employed in several food applications, to obtain or enhance functional and technological properties of cheese, yogurt, bread, cookies or pasta. The aim of this work was to evaluate the potential boosting effect of two different concentrations (0.25% and 0.50% w/v) of A. platensis on the fermentation capability of several starter lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains, 1 probiotic and 4 commercial mix culture. These strains were used to ferment three different substrates and their fermentation behaviors were evaluated by impedance analyses together with rheological and color measurements. In tryptic soy broth (TSB), the A. platensis boosting effect was significantly higher if compared to yeast extract for all the starter LAB strains except for Lb. casei, which was equally stimulated. Different results were found when the same LAB strains were cultivated in SSM. The most evident boosting effect was found for S. thermophilus and Lb. casei. LAB growth was promoted by A. platensis, confirming that it could be a useful tool in the production of novel functional fermented dairy foods. The potential boosting effect was evaluated on four commercial mix cultures used to produce milk and soy fermented beverages. It was demonstrated that the booster effect took place, but it was variable and dependent not only on the mix culture used, but also on the substrate and A. platensis concentration. Also, rheological and color modifications were found to be dependent on these factors.Foods 2020, 9, 350 2 of 15 to a continuous research of new natural ingredients to be used in food formulations. [15]. Some studies reported that A. platensis stimulated lactic acid bacteria (LAB) growth in vitro condition [15][16][17] moreover, in milk products such as yogurt and ayran, Spirulina contributed to preservation of LAB viability during storage [18][19][20].This aspect could be very important especially for probiotic cultures that, after ingestion, are believed to play a significant role in the intestinal tract against pathogenic microorganisms [20]. To perform this activity, a sufficient number of viable microorganisms must be present throughout the shelf life of the product [17].Moreover, as it is well known that LAB strains have a high nutritional requirement and that their fermentation time could be influenced by numerous factors, (especially in fermented milk-related products) [21][22][23][24][25], in some cases energy boost is required in order to promote growth, fermentation capability and viability of the strains [26]. As it has been already observed, A. platensis biomass could increase the rate and the survival of several strains in fermented dairy products [27,28].In this context, A. platensis, could play a multiple role in fermented foods: as a functional ingredient but also as a booster to enhance the technologic...

Lactic Acid Fermentation of Arthrospira platensis (Spirulina) in a Vegetal Soybean Drink for Developing New Functional Lactose-Free Beverages

“…To the best of our knowledge, only the recent work of Martelli et al (2020b) focused on A. platensis fermentation in a non-dairy milk, specifically in a soybean drink. In accordance with the results obtained by Martelli et al (2020b) we have demonstrated that A. platensis can promote LAB growth. Similar results have also been reported by Bhowmik et al (2009), where the addition up to 10 g L −1 of A. platensis to MRS broth media containing different Lactobacillus cultures promoted the growth until 9 log CFU mL −1 (after 10 h), starting from a concentration of about 2.5 log CFU mL −1 .…”

“…Several authors (de Caire et al, 2000;Varga et al, 2002;Bhowmik et al, 2009;Guldas and Irkin, 2010;Beheshtipour et al, 2013;Mazinani et al, 2016;Yamaguchi et al, 2019;Martelli et al, 2020b) evaluated the effect of Arthrospira spp.…”

“…Fermented products, powders, beverages, or delicacies from seaweeds, Chlorella, Dunaliella, and spirulina (different Arthrospira species), usually mixed with plant-derived substrates and obtained through fermentative processes by LAB or yeasts or a mixture of these microorganisms, are already available on the market (de Marco Castro et al, 2019). To the best of our knowledge, except for the work of Martelli et al (2020b), no work concerning the effect of A. platensis fermentation in non-dairy beverages, specifically in a soybean drink, as well as on in vivo intracellular oxidation and phycocyanin (PC) and allophycocyanin (APC) stability was carried out.…”

Edible Seaweeds and Spirulina Extracts for Food Application: In Vitro and In Situ Evaluation of Antimicrobial Activity towards Foodborne Pathogenic Bacteria

“…A. platensis has been studied as a valuable source of antimicrobial, antiviral and antioxidant compounds but its activity is variable and dependent on the extractive solvent [ 58 , 59 , 60 ]. This cyanobacterium, commercially known as Spirulina, is used in food formulations or as a food supplement [ 6 , 61 ] and in health products [ 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 ], because of its composition rich in proteins and small peptides. The antimicrobial potential of small peptides is well known and the activity of several algae is related to their high protein content.…”

Boosting effects of Spirulina platensis, whey protein, and probiotics on the growth of microflora and the nutritional value of ayran

“…These types of drinks, alternative for probiotics, WPH progress the ability of lactic acid bacteria because it works for promoting the perfect viability of fermented milk products 14,15 . Besides, the addition of S. platensis into probiotic‐fermented dairy products will enhance the ability of probiotics and their functional characteristics because this cyanobacterium contains a huge quantity of nutrients taken into account “a functional food” 9,11 …”