Evaluation of a potentially probiotic non-dairy beverage developed with honey and kefir grains: Fermentation kinetics and storage study

• Published in: Food science and technology international 2016-12, Vol.22 (8), p.732-742
• Main Authors: Fiorda, Fernanda A, de Melo Pereira, Gilberto V, Thomaz-Soccol, Vanete, Rakshit, Sudip K, Soccol, Carlos R
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Beverages - microbiology; Fermentation; Food Handling; Food Storage; Honey - microbiology; Kefir - microbiology; Microbial Viability; Nitrogen - chemistry; Probiotics - analysis; Taste
• ISSN: 1082-0132; 1532-1738
• DOI: 10.1177/1082013216646491

The aim of this work was to study the fermentation process of honey with kefir grains through a comprehensive understanding of its rheological properties, probiotic cell viability, instrumental color parameters and kinetic aspects in a batch bioreactor and during storage. The results showed that kefir grains were well adapted to bioreactor conditions, reaching high levels of cell viability (over 106 CFU mL−1 for total yeast and bacteria), phenolic compounds content (190 GAE/100 g) and acidification after 24 h of fermentation at 30 ℃. Colorimetric analysis showed that lightness (L*) and redness (a*) remained constant, while yellowness intensities (b*) decreased during fermentation time. After 35 days of storage, honey kefir beverage maintained its chemical characteristics and microbial viability as required to be classified as a probiotic product. The Ostwald-de-Waele (R2 ≥ 0.98) and Herschel-Bulkley (R2 ≥ 0.99) models can be used to predict the behavior of honey kefir beverage. The parameters analyzed in this study should be taken into account for industrial production of this novel non-dairy beverage.