HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Interpretive Summary Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Chen, T.-H. Articles by Chen, M.-J. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Chen, T.-H. Articles by Chen, M.-J.

Microbiological and chemical properties of kefir manufactured by entrapped microorganisms isolated from kefir grains

T.-H. Chen^*, S.-Y. Wang^*,, K.-N. Chen, J.-R. Liu^*, and M.-J. Chen^*,#,1

^* Department of Animal Science and Technology, and
Experimental Farm, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tungnan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China
Institute of Biotechnology, and
^# Center for Food and Biomolecule, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China

¹ Corresponding author: cmj{at}ntu.edu.tw

In this study, various yeasts (Kluyveromyces marxianus, Saccharomyces turicensis, Pichia fermentans) and lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens, Lactobacillus kefiri, Leuconostoc mesenteroides) were entrapped in 2 different microspheres using an entrapment ratio for the strains that was based on the distribution ratio of these organisms in kefir grains. The purpose of this study was to develop a new technique to produce kefir using immobilized starter cultures isolated from kefir grains. An increase in cell counts with fermentation cycles was observed for both the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yeasts, whereas the cell counts of kefir grains were very stable during cultivation. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the short-chain lactobacilli and lactococci occupied the surface of the LAB microspheres, whereas the long-chain lactobacilli were inside the microspheres. When the yeasts were analyzed, cells at a high density were entrapped in cracks on the surface and within the microspheres, where they were surrounded by the short-chain lactobacilli. The distribution of the LAB and yeast species in kefir produced from grains and microspheres showed that there was no significant difference between the kefirs produced by the 2 methods; moreover, Leu. mesenteroides and K. marxianus were the predominating microflora in both types of kefir. There was no significant difference in the ethanol and exopolysaccharide contents between the 2 kefirs, although the acidity was different.

Key Words: entrapment • kefir grains • kefir