Health-promoting benefits of low-fat akawi cheese made by exopolysaccharide-producing probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum isolated from camel milk

摘要

Lactic acid bacteria isolated from camel milk exhibit remarkable probiotic and exopolysaccharide (EPS)-producing characteristics. The health-promoting benefits of exopolysaccharide-producing probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum isolated from camel milk used for making low-fat akawi cheese were investigated. Three low-fat akawi cheeses were made using traditional culture (non-EPS-producing, EPS~-), commercial EPS-producing (MEPS~+), and camel milk EPS-producing (CEPS~+) cultures. α-Amylase and a-glucosidase inhibitory activities, antioxidant activities, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition, and antiproliferative activity were determined. Cheese made with CEPS~+ culture exhibited comparable α-amylase inhibition to that of cheeses made with MEPS~+. Scavenging rates of cheese made with EPS~+ cultures were higher than those of cheese made with EPS~- cultures. The percentage of α-glucosidase inhibition ranged from >45% at 0 d to ~55% at 21 d of storage. After 7 d of storage, the scavenging rate in CEPS~+ cheese increased >60% by ABTS assay [2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzo-thiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)] and >20% by DPPH assay (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl). Throughout storage, cheese made with EPS~+ cultures showed higher ACE-inhibition activity compared with EPS~- cultures. Cheese made with CEPS~+ showed ACE inhibition >70% after 7 d of storage. Antiproliferation activity of CEPS~+ cheese increased from 38 to 48% during 7 d of storage and was maintained above 45% with prolonged storage. Low-fat akawi cheese produced with these cultures exhibited similar or greater health-promoting benefits compared with cheese made using commercial starter cultures. Therefore, incorporation of these cultures in food is promising for commercial uses.