Functional properties of exocellular polysaccharides in dairy based foods

摘要

A large number of lactic acid bacteria is known for their ability to produce high molecular weight polysaccharides. These exocellular polysaccharides (EPS) are of interest as natural thickeners in dairy products. The present study was undertaken to improve our understanding of EPS functionality in dairy products. Milk samples were fermented by various EPS-producing organisms and characterised by small deformation rheology, viscosity measurements and confocal scanning laser microscopy. It was found that functionality depends a.o. on the charge of the EPS, i.e. functional properties of negatively charged EPSes were different from those of non-charged EPSes. A simple model is presented to explain these differences.