the impact of barley bran powder on the physicochemical, rheological, and sensory properties of probiotic low-fat cheese: a response surface methodology approach

Background: this study was conducted to produce probiotic cheese containing barley (hordeum vulgare) bran, optimizing its physicochemical, rheological, and sensory characteristics while maximizing the viability of lactobacillus acidophilus over a nine-day storage period at 4 °c.methods: using the response surface method (rsm), 13 treatment combinations were designed, including barely bran concentrations ranging from 0% to 4% and storage durations extending up to 42 days. two types of cheese were evaluated: probiotic cheese and probiotic cheese containing barley bran. comprehensive assessments included microbial viability, physicochemical variables (such as ph and acidity), rheological properties, and sensory evaluation.results: the highest viability of probiotics, recorded at 8.7 log cfu/g, was observed in the probiotic low-fat cheese on day 1 with a barley bran concentration of 4%. the physicochemical analysis indicated suitable ph and acidity levels. rheological characteristics, such as viscosity and hardness, were enhanced in barley bran samples, whereas adhesiveness showed no significant change. the color index (l*) decreased in the samples with added barley bran.conclusion: incorporating 2.37% barley bran into the cheese formulation resulted in a product with optimal physicochemical, rheological, and sensory properties. in addition, the population of l. acidophilus bacteria increased to 8.21 log cfu/g, and these characteristics were maintained for approximately nine days during refrigerated storage (4 °c).