effect of ganoderma lucidum extract on rheological and microbial characteristics of uf-white cheese during ripening

The study aimed to explore the impact of methanolic extract from the medicinal mushroom ganoderma lucidum (gle) in various concentrations (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2%) on the rheological and microbial characteristics of uf-white cheese during a 90-day ripening period at a controlled temperature of 5±0.5°c. the study’s findings indicated that the optimal combination of storage modulus, loss modulus, and loss tangent was observed in the group integrated with 0.5% gle, regarding microbial analysis. however, the population of lactic acid (lab) and mesophilic bacteria exhibited an incremental trend parallel to increasing gle concentrations by up to 2%. nevertheless, a reduction was observed during the ripening phase. additionally, the growth of fungi was effectively inhibited in the presence of gle, with the sample containing 2% gle displaying complete fungal suppression compared to the control (6.32±0.12 cfu/g) over 90 days. remarkably, no coliform bacteria were detected in any treatments throughout the ripening process.