Exploratory Study for Probiotic Enrichment of a Sea Fennel (<i>Crithmum maritimum</i> L.) Preserve in Brine

Abstract

Considering the increasing consumer demand for vegan and vegetarian health foods, different vegetables have been already exploited to produce non-dairy probiotic foods. In addition to being rich in bioactive compounds, sea fennel (Crithmum maritimum L.), also known as rock samphire, represents a valuable candidate in the production of probiotic-enriched foods, and, to the authors’ knowledge, it has not yet been explored as carrier for probiotics. Hence, the present study was aimed at evaluating the survival of a commercially available probiotic formulation, SYNBIO®, and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum IMC 509 in an artificially acidified, pasteurized sea fennel preserve in brine during a refrigerated storage of 44 days. Despite slight reductions in the microbial loads, at the end of the storage, both the probiotic formulations showed loads higher than 7.0 Log CFU g−1 of sea fennel or mL−1 of brine, above the recommended administration dose to exert beneficial health effects. Thus, acidified sea fennel sprouts in brine represent a potential vehicle for probiotics delivery to humans.

Keywords

• rock samphire
• <i>Lactiplantibacillus plantarum</i> IMC 509
• SYNBIO^®
• artificially acidified preserve