Physico-chemical, textural, microbiological and sensory properties together with fatty acid profiles of presumptive probiotic yoghurts fortified with persimmon (Diospyros kaki) powder.

This research paper focuses on enrichment of yoghurt containing probiotic Lactobacillus casei with persimmon (Diospyros kaki) powder in concentrations of 0 (Control) and then 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0% (A-D respectively) and determination of some characteristics of the product during refrigerated storage for 21 d. Powder addition affected the color characteristics, textural properties, titratable acidity and water-holding capacity values. The viability of both yoghurt bacteria (Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus) and L. casei increased proportionally to adding persimmon powder for all storage days. Furthermore, addition of fruit powder increased short-chain fatty acid and polyunsaturated fatty acid contents. According to sensory analysis results, sample D had the lowest scores from the panelists, whereas the Control together with samples B and C were the most liked yoghurts in terms of flavor characteristics. In terms of overall acceptability, all of the samples received scores over three points on a five-point scale throughout storage. This study indicates that persimmon powder enriched yoghurt is a good vehicle for L. casei and yoghurt bacteria with improved fatty acid profile and acceptable sensory characteristics.