Secagem da polpa de umbu-cajá com adição de cultura probiótica em leito de jorro e liofilizador.

Abstract

Aiming to improve the technological potential of umbu-cajá pulp, the present work aimed to produce, by means of spouted bed drying and freeze-drying processes, a powdered umbu-cajá pulp with probiotic properties by adding the culture Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis. Different formulations were prepared, according to the drying process, using an experimental design, where the influence of independent variables (inlet temperature and maltodextrin and inulin concentrations) was analyzed on the dependent variables of viable cell number and yield, evaluating the quality offered in the final product and in the efficiency of the process. Analyzes of physicochemical, chemical and antioxidant activity parameters in fresh and probiotic pulp were carried out, resulting from a kinetic study, as well as the evaluation of the viability of the probiotic culture in liquid pulp during refrigerated storage (4 ± 2 ºC) for 28 days, with analyzes on days 1, 7, 14, 21 and 28, of the number of viable cells, pH and acidity. For the powdered probiotic umbu-cajá pulp, resulting from the spouted bed drying process, physicochemical and chemical determinations were carried out for comparative purposes with the liquid pulp, as well as for the pulps obtained through the freeze-drying process, where the physical aspects of the powder were also evaluated. Through the results found, it was possible to verify the viability of the probiotic culture Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis in the liquid probiotic umbu-cajá pulp, during 28 days of storage, and the antioxidant capacity. At the end of the drying processes, pulps with low water content and concentration of bioactive components were obtained: the powders offered stability for the probiotic culture, ensuring a count in the number of viable cells within the parameters required for its classification as a functional food