The viability of microorganism of probiotic yogurt enriched with bee pollen

It aims to offer an alternative product to the food industry for the increasing demands of healthy nutrition with production of yogurt containing bee pollen. Probiotic yogurt prepared with different levels of bee pollen (0.5%, 1.5%, 3% and 6%) were evaluated for antimicrobial properties, viability of S. thermophilus, L. bulgaricus, L. acidophilus, and Bifidobacterium spp. during 14 days of refrigerated storage, and resistance to in vitro gastrointestinal conditions. Yogurt samples showed antimicrobial activity against L. monocytogenes, S. Typhimurium, E. coli, E. coli O157:H7, and S. aureus at high level of cell concentration (108 CFU/mL). The viability of S. thermophilus, L. bulgaricus, L. acidophilus, and Bifidobacterium spp. decreased in vitro gastrointestinal digestion model depending on bee pollen content and bacterial species as the application time increased. The simulated gastric and intestinal juice tolerance of bacteria was strain dependent and pH-dependent. The addition bee pollen enhanced the survival of L. acidophilus in both simulated juices.