Fermentation of kefir grains in different brazilian raw cane sugar commercial brands

Abstract

Kefir is a probiotic fermented beverage resulted of the inoculation of kefir grains on different substrates. The raw cane sugar (also known as brown sugar) solution is one of the most common and most studied substrates. However, there is little evidence of the interference of the origin of the sugar in the grain fermentation intensity. Therefore, this work aims to evaluate the kinetics of the fermentation of kefir grains in brown sugar solution from five different commercial brands. The fermentative substrate was prepared with 10% brown sugar dissolved in deionized water, and 10% kefir grains were added. The fermentation process took place for 48 hours at room temperature. The analyzes performed were pH, tritable acidity, lactic acid bacteria and yeast count, all of them at time 0 and 48 (hours) of fermentation. Kefir grain biomass was weighed at times 0, 24 and 48 (hours). Native brand showed a more pronounced fermentation process, with greater growth in biomass, from 50.01 g to 122.03g, while Bella brand resulted in a substrate with small changes of pH and acidity and a good microbial growth.