Determining Some of the Quality Properties of Kefir Manufactured by Using Microencapsulated Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii

Probiotics are defined as live microorganism support that affects human health positively by regulating the intestinal flora of the host and stimulating the immune system. Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii is the only probiotic yeast that has been patented. In this study, it was aimed to determine the chemical and microbiological quality parameters of probiotic kefir samples manufactured by using this yeast microencapsulated via extrusion method during storage. Therefore, the potential use of S. boulardii will be assessed in the production of functional probiotic fermented dairy products. All probiotic kefir samples were stored for 28 days at 4 oC. The chemical properties of samples such as pH, titration acidity (% L.A.), ash, total dry matter, protein and fat rates were determined on 1st, 7th, 14th 21st and 28th days of storage. Microbiological characteristics such as total mesophilic aerobic bacteria, total coliform, total lactic acid bacteria, total yeast-mold, total mesophilic starter cultures (Lactococcus spp.) and viability of the S. boulardii were determined by analyzing the samples. All analyzes were performed in triplicate