| Folate deficiency is a public health concern affecting all age groups worldwide. The available evidence reveals that adding probiotic
bacteria to the yoghurt starter cultures during yoghurt production process under fermentation conditions increases the folate content of
yoghurt. The present study was conducted to measure two folate derivatives, i.e., 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and 5-
formyltetrahydrofolate, in bio-fortified yoghurt samples including (1) yoghurt containing Streptococcus thermophilus and
Lactobacillus bulgaricus, (2) probiotic yoghurt containing Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5 and Bifidobacterium lactis BB-12, (3)
probiotic yoghurt containing native strains of Lactobacillus plantarum 15HN, (4) probiotic yoghurt containing native strains of
Lactococcus lactis 44Lac, and (5) probiotic yoghurt containing commercial strains of Lactobacillus plantarum LAT BY PL. During
storage at 4 °C for 21 days, the highest levels of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and 5-formyltetrahydrofolate, which were statistically
significant, were detected in the yoghurt made using Lact. plantarum 15HN. Moreover, the highest total folate concentration (1487
±96.42 μg/L) was specified in the yoghurt containing Lact. plantarum 15HN on the 7th day. It can be conjectured that this product can
be suggested as a proper alternative to synthetic folic acid and may not have the side effects of using synthetic folic acid overdoses. |