Fermented dairy products have been recognized as the best carriers for the administration of probiotics. Because one of the potential probiotic strains, Lactobacillus plantarum, has poor proteolytic ability and weak acidifying capacity in milk fermentation, the aim of this study was to preliminarily investigate the stimulation effect of plant-based meals on L. plantarum CCFM8661 growth in milk, and subsequently develop a yogurt or yogurt drinks containing probiotic strain L. plantarum CCFM8661. Milk supplemented with different concentrations (5 to 10%, wt/wt) of oat extract and malt extract, inoculated with 2.5 × 10 7 cfu/mL of L. plantarum CCFM8661, and then incubated at 35°C. The pH value, titration acidity, and viable cell counts during 48-h fermentation at 35°C and 25-d storage at 4°C, were determined at different intervals. The results showed that the promotion effects of oat extract and malt extract on L. plantarum CCFM8661 growth rate in milk were much stronger than almond, walnut, sweet corn, peanut, and soybean meals. In addition, the stimulation effect of oat extract was associated with its concentration, and was much stronger than that of malt extract. Furthermore, viable counts and titration acidity of yogurt were gradually increased in the oat extract group, whereas viable counts were gradually decreased and titration acidity were slightly increased in the malt extract group during the 25-d storage at 4°C.
Summary
Lactobacillus plantarum proliferates inefficiently in milk, mainly because of its lack of cell envelope proteases and its inability to hydrolyse proteins in milk. Our previous study showed that this strain could grow well in milk with the addition of oat and malt extracts. To investigate the usage and preference for polypeptides and oligopeptides for this strain, sodium dodecyl sulphate‐polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS‐PAGE), o‐phthaldialdehyde (OPA), high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), plate counting and other methods were used in this study. The results showed that proteins in fermented milk cannot be absorbed and utilised by L. plantarum, whereas polypeptides and oligopeptides provide available nitrogen sources for their growth. Short‐chain peptides were more conducive to absorption and utilisation than long‐chain peptides. In particular, peptides with molecular weights in the range of 200–1400 Da in the oat extract and 100–700 Da in the malt extract were preferentially absorbed and utilised.
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