Production of a probiotic camel milk enriched with pomegranate peel powder

In this study, the probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus acidophilus with different percentages of pomegranate peel powder (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2%) were used to produce a functional camel milk-based beverage. The physicochemical, antioxidant and sensory properties of the resulting drinks were evaluated. The results showed that enrichment of milk with pomegranate peel powder improved the survival of probiotic bacteria from 6.95 to 7.35 Log CFU/ml. Addition of pomegranate peel to beverages increased their antioxidant activity from 7 to 85.33, 9.13 to 93.66 and 0.126 to 0.435 as measured by DPPH free radical scavenging, ABTS+ free radical scavenging and reduction potency tests, respectively. Rheological studies also showed that the addition of pomegranate peel powder to beverages increased their viscosity from 5.65 to 21.5 mPa. Adding pomegranate peel powder to beverages also changed the color factors (L*, a* and b*) so that increasing the level of pomegranate peel powder increased the red and yellow color in the samples. Also, the results of the sensory evaluation, including taste, appearance, smell and general acceptance indicated that the produced beverages were well-liked by consumers. However, the results of sensory evaluation showed that adding high percentages of pomegranate peel powder to beverages could reduce the sensory acceptance of the final product.