Similar to cow’s milk, camel milk also contains the essential nutrients as well as potentially therapeutic compounds with antihypertensive, and antioxidant properties. In the current study, camel milk was used for developing a new probiotic camel milk yoghurt with commercial prebiotic (inulin). The camel yoghurt samples were evaluated by monitoring the changes in some physicochemical properties (pH, total acidity and synerisis) and bacterial viability and survival of Limosilactobacillus fermentum CABA16 during storage. Besides, antibacterial, ⍺-amylase and ⍺-glucosidase inhibitions and antioxidant activities and the sensory evaluation of this novel product were assessed. The pH values of samples decreased whereas total acidity values increased throughout 21 days of storage and Limosilactobacillus fermentum CABA16 maintained good viability with counts higher than 107 CFU g-1 at the end of storage. α-Glucosidase and α- Amylase Inhibitions Water-Soluble Extracts were higher than 35 and 55% respectively in probiotic (PY), prebiotic (InY) and symbiotic (SY) camel yoghurts at the end of storage period. Moreover, the highest antioxidant activities of the WSEs from camel yoghurts were around 49 and 61% by DPPH and ABTS assays respectively. The fortified probiotic camel yoghurts exhibited comparable antibacterial activities with maximum diameter of 12±0.07 mm on Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes strains. Lastly, the addition of probiotic and inulin significantly improved the sensory characteristics, except the colour, of camel yoghurts.

The production of date paste from second-grade date fruits is a fast-growing industrial activity which promotes more sustainable food systems. The industrial date paste process is mainly dependent on the thermal treatments of hydration and drying that precede flesh crushing. These thermal treatments are commonly performed industrially using steam hydration instead of water soaking and convective hot air drying, which are known to be energy-intensive operations leading to high greenhouse gas emissions. The objective of this work was to optimize, on the one hand, the operations of hydration and drying of dates at an industrial scale using a response surface Box–Behnken experimental design in order to reduce the energy consumption and, on the other hand, to assess the biochemical and microstructural properties of date paste produced under optimized conditions. Optimization was performed based on the measurements of sensory attributes, instrumental texture firmness, moisture content, water activity (a_w), and color parameters (L*, a*, b*), as well as on the energy savings related to the factors of hydration duration and temperature and time of drying. The optimal conditions to ensure the highest quality of the final product and the lowest energy consumption were 9.6 min of hydration at 80 °C and 3 h of drying at 52.28 °C. The biochemical analysis of the date paste produced under the optimized process showed that it is rich in dietary fibers (9.80 ± 2.10%) and total phenols (261 ± 6.2 mg gallic acid equivalent/100 g of extract). Furthermore, the studied sample exhibited a higher antioxidant potential than the raw date material as a result of the heat-inhibitory effect of oxidases. The obtained results suggest that date paste presents a good source of natural bioactive molecules and could potentially be considered as a functional food ingredient. SEM analysis showed that the microstructural properties of date paste produced under optimal conditions may promote its quality preservation during storage.

This study aimed to produce probiotic ‘Testouri’, traditional Tunisian sheep cheese, by direct-to-vat inoculum of probiotic adjuncts.The potential of Testouri sheep cheeses was evaluated by an assessment of gross composition and proteolytic, antibacterial, antidiabetic and antioxidant activities during storage at 4 °C for 28 days. Results highlighted that no significant differences were observed in compositional parameters of the samples at day 0. Probiotic counts in cheeses remained at 8 log CFU g⁻¹ during storage. Probiotic cheeses exhibited measurable antibacterial activities with the maximum value (diameter of 12 ± 0.07 mm) on Staphylococcus aureus strain. Also, α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitions ranged from 42 ± 0.77 to 58 ± 0.88% and 20 ± 0.9 to 47 ± 1.3%, respectively, during storage. Additionally, cheeses inoculated with probiotics exhibited significant increases in proteolytic and antioxidant activities compared to the control sample.Therefore, Testouri cheese can be considered a good carrier of probiotics and can be promoted for commercial uses.

Cultured buttermilk is a dairy beverage with a high nutritive value. In the current study, functional cultured buttermilk was formulated using probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum and flaxseed fortification to improve the potential health benefits. The cultured buttermilk samples were analysed for pH, lactic acidity, colour, phase separation, viscosity, microbiology and sensory properties. The results showed non-significant changes in acidity and pH. However, flaxseed fortification decreased phase separation and increased viscosity of buttermilks. In addition, a significant difference in colour attributes was revealed between samples. Sensory characteristics of cultured buttermilks were acceptable to produce a functional food.

Edible probiotic films incorporated by probiotics can be used to keep away from undesirable microbes on the surface of the cheese to improve its quality and promote beneficial effects on consumer health. In this study, flaxseed, Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus acidophilus as probiotics were used to produce active edible packaging and evaluate its application in the sheep Sicilian cheese surfaces stored 10 days at 4°C. Microbiological, physicochemical, sensorial quality, antibacterial and antioxidant effects of cheeses were studied. The flaxseed mucilage-probiotic film improved cheese preservation by reducing the weight loss, preserving the pH and colour. Advantageously, flaxseed coating allowed improving probiotic viability throughout storage period. Native microbiota counts remained under safe levels. Probiotic coating cheeses exhibited 12.8±0.25 mm of maximum diameter inhibition against Listeria monocytogenes and enhanced oxidation (maximum DPPH inhibition: 51±0.33%) with acceptable sensorial properties for consumers. Hence, flaxseed mucilage probiotic film has proved to be suitable for quality preservation of functional foods.