Viability of Yogurt Starter Cultures and Bifidobacteria in Co-Cultured Milk

Probiotic yogurt as a popular functional product that promotes human health. Bifidobacteria offer new probiotic strains. However, co-cultivation may trigger antagonistic activity in microbial cultures that have to compete for nutrients. In this research, we counted Streptococcus salivarius subsp. thermophiles and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus cultures cultivated with strains of Bifidobacterium bifidum ICIS-310 and Bifidobacterium longum ICIS-505 in milk for 21 days. The count, pH tests, and appearance description were performed on days 1, 7, 14, and 21. The co-cultivation of industrial yoghurt production microorganisms with B. bifidum ICIS-310 and B. longum ICIS-505 strains for 21 days reduced neither their count nor the sensory profile of the finished product. After further research into their metabolic interaction and immunomodulatory effect in vivo, the consortium may reveal some prospects for the functional food industry.