| Summary: | Abstract This work aimed to study the use of fruit salads as carriers for Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001. We evaluated the viability of this probiotic in fruit salads and the phsyico-chemical, microbiological and sensory properties of this food. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to verify microorganism adhesion on the fruit tissues. The viability of L. rhamnosus in fruit salads was 8.49 log CFU.g-1 after 120 hours. SEM images showed that fruit tissue provided protection for probiotic. Adhesion sites were observed in higher quantity in banana, apple and guava. The addition of L. rhamnosus did not alter texture of fruits (p > 0.05). Fruit salads containing probiotic had different values of pH and acidity compared to the control (p < 0.05). Ascorbic acid content decreased over time; however, total carotenoids did not significantly decrease (p > 0.05). Fruit salads containing L. rhamnosus showed counts of psychotrophic microorganisms of at least 2.0 log CFU.g-1 lower than control salad after 120 h of refrigerated storage. The fruit salad was well accepted by consumers. Therefore, this product can be used as a carrier for probiotic and an alternative to consuming functional foods.
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