Goat Cheese Produced with Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) Seed Extract and a Native Culture of Limosilactobacillus mucosae: Characterization and Probiotic Survival

The microbiological and biochemical properties of a goat cheese produced using <i>Helianthus annuus</i> (sunflower) seed extract as a coagulant and the potentially probiotic autochthonous culture <i>Limosilactobacillus mucosae</i> CNPC007 were examined in comparison to a control cheese devoid of the autochthonous culture. Throughout a 60-day storage period at 6 ± 1 °C, lactobacilli maintained a count of above 8 log CFU/g. Additionally, its viability in cheeses subjected to the in vitro gastrointestinal conditions demonstrated improvement over this period. Specifically, the recovery of lactobacilli above 6 log CFU/g was observed in 16.66% of the samples in the first day, increasing to 66.66% at both 30 and 60 days. While total coliforms were detected in both cheese trials, this sanitary parameter exhibited a decline in <i>L. mucosae</i> cheeses during storage, falling below the method threshold (<3 MPN/g) at 60 days. This observation suggests a potential biopreservative effect exerted by this microorganism, likely attributed to the higher acidity of <i>L. mucosae</i> cheeses at that point (1.80 g/100 g), which was twice that of the control trial (0.97 g/100 g). Furthermore, distinct relative proportions of >30 kDa, 30-20 kDa, and <20 kDa proteins during storage was verified for <i>L. mucosae</i> and control cheeses. Consequently, either the <i>H. annuus</i> seed extract or the <i>L. mucosae</i> CNPC007 autochthonous culture influenced the biochemical properties of the cheese, particularly in terms of proteolysis. Moreover, <i>L. mucosae</i> CNPC007 acidification property resulted in a biopreservative effect throughout the storage period, indicating the potential as a promising source of probiotics for this product.