LactoSpore Probiotic Remains Stable in Variety of Food Types, Study Says

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A new stability study on LactoSpore suggests the probiotic from Sabinsa (East Windsor, NJ) may retain viability under standard processing and storage conditions in a variety of functional food types, including peanut butter, baked foods, coffee, vegetable oil, and more.

Researchers found that LactoSpore, which contains Sabinsa’s Bacillus coagulans MTCC 5856 probiotic strain, remained stable during processing and storage at frozen conditions of banana muffins and waffles for up to 12 months. In chocolate fudge frosting, hot fudge toppings, peanut butter, strawberry preserve, and vegetable oil, LactoSpore retained at least 95% viability at room temperature for up to 12 months. The probiotics also remained stable in refrigerated apple juice for up to six months and in concentrated glucose syrup for up to 24 months.

Additionally, LactoSpore was found to retain 87% viability in coffee immediately after brewing. Even after being kept at 77 °C for four hours after brewing, LactoSpore in coffee still retained 66% viability. Researchers concluded the probiotic “showed promising stability during processing and storage of functional foods.”

“The most crucial property that a probiotic can have, to confer health benefits, is demonstrated stability,” said Shaheen Majeed, marketing director for Sabinsa and one author of the study. “In this publication, our studies on LactoSpore prove beyond a doubt that our room-temperature, shelf-stable probiotic can be incorporated in everyday types of formulations.”

Study Details

Researchers spray-dried B. coagulans MTCC 5856 spores with food-grade maltodextrin to create a concentration of 15 x 10⁹ CFU g^–1 in powdered form. The preparation was then added to the recipe of the functional food. For each time interval studied, a 1-g sample of the food or beverage was mixed in sterile saline, incubated in a water bath for 30 min at 75 °C, and then immediately cooled to below 45 °C. Researchers found the viable probiotic count by plating on glucose yeast extract agar by pour plate method. Each analysis was performed three times at two different occasions.

There was no significant decrease in the survival of LactoSpore during baking of waffles or banana muffins, reported researchers, and its retained its viability up to 12 months of storage when frozen at –20 °C +/- 2. Hot fudge topping, chocolate fudge frosting, peanut butter, strawberry preserves, and vegetable oil all retained at least 95% viability of LactoSpore for up to 12 months of storage at room temperature.

When LactoSpore was included in coffee powder and brewed for 2 minutes at 90 °C, there was 13% reduction in viability from initial count. The coffee was then maintained at a holding temperature of 77 °C for four hours to simulate coffee that is kept hot after brewing for later uses. Although probiotic viability was reduced by 30% at three hours and 34% at four hours after brewing, researchers found that there was “no significant reduction in the viability” of LactoSpore after brewing until one hour of holding temperature.

In apple juice, LactoSpore was found to be stable and retained more than 99% viability for up to six months of storage at refrigerated conditions. In concentrated glucose syrup, it retained 99% viability for up to 24 months of storage in refrigerated conditions.

Researchers concluded, “B. coagulans MTCC 5856 showed promising stability during processing and storage of functional foods and could be an excellent probiotic ingredient to use in various food applications.”

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Michael Crane
Associate Editor
Nutritional Outlook Magazine
michael.crane@ubm.com

References:

Majeed M et al., “Evaluation of the stability of Bacillus coagulans MTCC 5856 during processing and storage of functional foods,” International Journal of Food Science and Technology. Published online January 20, 2016.