The effect of probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001 on the in vitro availability of minerals from cheeses and cheese-like products

This study determined the effect of the Lactobacillus rhamnosus HNO01 probiotic culture on the availability of calcium, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus and potassium. Due to variations in the rate of lactic acid fermentation, calcium concentrations were significantly higher in cheese-like products than in ripened cheeses. The contents of the remaining minerals were comparable in ripened cheeses and in cheese-like products. Enzymatic hydrolysis in vitro revealed that calcium was the least-available element (similar to 16%). The average availability of phosphorus, potassium, zinc and magnesium was significantly higher at similar to 94%, 69%, 65% and 58%, respectively. The highest availability of Ca, Mg and Zn was observed in ripened cheese-like products and the lowest was in Swiss-type cheese. The highest availability of P and K was observed in ripened cheeses, but the difference was not significant. The addition of L rhainnosus HN001 significantly increased the availability of calcium and magnesium from Dutch-type cheese and the availability of potassium and phosphorus from cheese-like products. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.