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Production of new functional coconut milk kefir with blueberry extract and microalgae: the comparison of the prebiotic potentials on lactic acid bacteria of kefir grain and biochemical characteristics

Doğan Kürşad Aktas

Production of new functional coconut milk kefir with blueberry extract and microalgae: the comparison of the prebiotic potentials on lactic acid bacteria of kefir grain and biochemical characteristics - p1986–1997

Probiotic foods are recognized for their importance on human health. Kefir is a versatile probiotic food that can be made from non-dairy sources for vegan diet. This study evaluated the addition of microalga Haematococcus pluvialis (0.50% w/v) and blueberry Vaccinium myrtillus (0.50% w/v) extracts to compare their influence on the biochemical properties and the bacterial community of coconut milk kefir through Nanopore-based DNA sequencing. Results revealed that the V. myrtillus increased the microbial diversity in coconut milk kefir with more abundant Proteobacteria species such as Lacticaseibacillus paracasei (22%) and Lactococcus lactis (6.3%). Microalga demonstrated the opposite effect on C, making Firmicutes represent the whole of the microbiota. Biochemical analysis revealed increased fat content in the kefir samples, with the C1 registering 1.62% and the 1.07% in C2, in contrast to the control group’s 0.87% fat content. The crude protein content exhibited a decrease in both samples compared to the control group (0.00% and 0.88% versus 1.07%). These findings suggest that fortifying vegan kefir with prebiotics has the potential to induce significant alterations in the kefir microbiota.


Blueberry extract
Microalgae
Prebiotic activity
Probiotics
Lactic acid bacteria N
anopore-based
DNA sequencing