DEVELOPMENT OF SYNBIOTIC MILK CHOCOLATE USING ENCAPSULATED LACTOBACILLUS CASEI NCDC 298

Milk chocolates were prepared by incorporating with free or encapsulated Lactobacillus casei NCDC 298 and inulin. Lactobacillus counts were remained above 8.0logcfu/g until 60 days under refrigerated condition. Yeast and molds, and coliforms were found to be absent in the products during the storage. Sensory panelists liked the milk chocolate with encapsulated lactobacilli. Feeding of synbiotic milk chocolate increased the fecal lactobacilli, decreased fecal coliforms and -glucuronidase activity in mice. Thus, milk chocolate has been shown to be an excellent food for delivery of probiotic lactobacilli. Moreover, the addition of the encapsulated lactobacilli and inulin did not affect the sensorial quality of the products. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSDevelopment of nonfermented probiotic foods will diversify the probiotics applications and increase the consumption round the year and across the population.