The impact of storage on the sensory, viscosity and chemical characteristics of yogurt fortified with oat β-glucan

Oat β-glucan has the potential of a functional additive to yogurt, however, texture analysis and chemical characteristics during storage of yogurt with the addition of this additive require more systematic research, which determines the relevance of the study. The aim of the research work was to analyze the feasibility of enriching yogurt with 0.3% oat β-glucan. A number of methods for obtaining new knowledge in the direction of developing healthy food products were used. It was found that yogurt with the addition of 0.3% oat β-glucan had water-holding capacity. All pH values ranged from 4.18 to 4.28, which are within the normal ranges for set-type yogurts. A higher viscosity of the experimental sample of yogurt compared to the control was established, and the highest values were 58560±2120 cp at 21 days for yogurt with the addition of 0.3% oat β-glucan. The viability of probiotic bacteria in yogurts was examined. During the whole storage period, the content of probiotics decreased, but yogurt with the addition of 0.3% oat β-glucan contained significantly more live probiotic bacteria compared to the control. The viability of probiotic bacteria of 0.3% oat β-glucan yogurt at 14 d (3.18±0.2×107 CFU/mL) was only slightly lower than that of control yogurt at 1 d (3.45±0.3×107 CFU/mL). This fully demonstrates that the addition of 0.3% oat β-glucan has a protective effect on probiotics in yogurt, which will be beneficial for human health. It was found that the addition of 0.3% oat β-glucan led to a decrease in adhesiveness, but an increase in hardness and stickiness during storage. The results of the sensory evaluation showed the highest acceptability values of 86.49 for 21 days of storage of yogurt with the addition of 0.3% oat β-glucan. The practical value of the research work lies in the developed yogurt containing 0.3% oat β-glucan being possibly to use as an innovative healthy dairy product