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Kefir grains as a starter for whey fermentation at different temperatures: chemical and microbiological characterisation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 April 2012

Alejandra Londero ,
María F. Hamet ,
Graciela L. De Antoni ,
Graciela L. Garrote  and
Analía G. Abraham
Alejandra Londero
Affiliation:
Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos (CIDCA, CONICET – UNLP), Calle 47 y 116, CP 1900, La Plata, Argentina
María F. Hamet
Affiliation:
Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos (CIDCA, CONICET – UNLP), Calle 47 y 116, CP 1900, La Plata, Argentina
Graciela L. De Antoni
Affiliation:
Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos (CIDCA, CONICET – UNLP), Calle 47 y 116, CP 1900, La Plata, Argentina Cátedra de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Calle 47 y 115, CP 1900, La Plata, Argentina
Graciela L. Garrote*
Affiliation:
Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos (CIDCA, CONICET – UNLP), Calle 47 y 116, CP 1900, La Plata, Argentina Cátedra de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Calle 47 y 115, CP 1900, La Plata, Argentina
Analía G. Abraham
Affiliation:
Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos (CIDCA, CONICET – UNLP), Calle 47 y 116, CP 1900, La Plata, Argentina Área Bioquímica y Control de Alimentos, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Calle 47 y 115, CP 1900, La Plata, Argentina
*
*For correspondence; e-mail: ggarrote@biol.unlp.edu.ar
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Abstract

We report here a comparative analysis of the growth, acidification capacity, and chemical and microbiologic composition between kefir grains after 20 subcultures in whey at 20, 30, and 37°C and the original kefir grains coming from milk along with a determination of the microbiological composition of the fermented whey as compared with that of traditional fermented milk.

When fermentation was carried out repeatedly at 30 or 37°C, kefir grains changed their kefir-like appearance, exhibited reduced growth rates, had a lower diversity of yeasts and water content, and a higher protein-to-polysaccharide ratio compared with the original kefir grains. In contrast, at 20°C kefir grains could remain in whey for prolonged periods without altering their acidification capacity, growth rate, macroscopic appearance or chemical and microbiologic composition—with the only difference being a reduction in certain yeast populations after 20 subcultures in whey. At this incubation temperature, the presence of Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens, Lb. kefir, Lb. parakefir, Lactococcus lactis, Kluyveromyces marxianus, Saccharomyces unisporus, and Sac. cerevisiae was detected in kefir grains and in fermented whey by denaturing-gradient-gel electrophoresis (DGGE). In whey fermented at 20°C the number of lactic-acid bacteria (LAB) was significantly lower (P<0·05) and the number of yeast significantly higher (P<0·05) than in fermented milk. Since the DGGE profiles were similar for both products, at this temperature the microbiologic composition of fermented whey is similar to that of fermented milk. We therefore suggest a temperature of 20°C to preserve kefir grains as whey-fermentation starters.

Keywords

KefirwheyfermentationprobioticDGGE
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Dairy Research , Volume 79 , Issue 3 , August 2012 , pp. 262 - 271
Copyright
Copyright © Proprietors of Journal of Dairy Research 2012

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