Synbiotic potential of carrot juice supplemented with Lactobacillus spp. and inulin or fructooligosaccharides.

The influence of the addition of two probiotic strains, Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus, and the prebiotic components inulin and fructooligosaccharides on carrot juice was investigated in order to evaluate the possibility of producing a functional vegetal beverage.Both bacterial strains were capable of growing in carrot juice, reaching nearly 5 × 109 colony-forming units after a 48 h fermentation, and the pH was reduced to 3.5–3.7 or below. The viable cell counts of the two lactobacilli in the fermented juice after 4weeks of storage at 4 æC, demonstrated good survival of the two strains at low pH. Some biochemical characteristics of the fermented juice, such as ²-carotene content and antioxidant activity, were also preserved, indicating that the metabolism of the Lactobacillus spp. did not degrade these nutritional components after 4 weeks of storage at 4 æC. The positive effect was more evident when the juice was inoculated with Lactobacillus rhamnosus. The presence of inulin and fructooligosaccharides did not alter the cell counts or the biochemical characteristics of the fermented juice.