Production and evaluation of probioticated mango juice using Pediococcus pentosaceus and Pediococcus acidilactici during storage at different temperature.

The incorporation of probiotics into fruit juices for the production of functional and nutraceutical food is of necessity in order to control lifestyle-related diseases and increase the availability of foods to a large population of lactose intolerant patients and vegetarians. Hence, the microbial viability, antagonistic activity, physicochemical, proximate minerals and organoleptic characterization of stored probioticated mango juice using Pediococcus pentosaceus and Pediococcus acidilactici as starter and unprobioticated samples were investigated. The viability of the probiotic strains decreased (3.37-0.47×10⁷ and 4.05-0.34×10⁷ CFU/mL) during storage. During the early weeks of storage at 4 and 25°C, the probioticated juice samples displayed antagonistic activities against some of the test pathogens, including Klebsiella pneumonia, <i>Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Bacillus cereus, </i> with E. coli being the most active. There was an increase in lactic acid production (17.75-19.10 and 19.28-20.54 mg/L) and vitamin C content (41.35-48.77 and 44.59-48.59). A significant...