Development of multifunctional bakery bio-ingredients containing two important vitamins, folate and B12

Oral presentation Background and Objectives: Microorganisms and their metabolites produced by biofermentations offer interesting benefits for food applications, e.g. production of specific vitamins; biopreservation and reduction of E-numbers, and improved texture of foods. Two problematic vitamins in nutrition are folate and B12, especially among women of child-bearing age, the aging population and strict vegetarians. This study aimed to develop new, natural sources of these important vitamins as well as other functional substances for adding value to bakery products. Methods: A co-culture technology (a) using strains of Lactobacillus plantarum and Propionibacterium freudenreichii selected for complementary carbon metabolism and high production of folate and Vitamin B12, respectively, was used to produce these vitamins along with anti-microbial compounds, mainly organic acids (propionic, acetic acids and others). The resulting mixture of multifunctional (MF) bio-ingredients was tested in Semmeli breads to assess stability and effects on product quality. Dough, partly- and fully-baked Semmeli were enriched with MF bio-ingredient at 0.1% or 0.2% equivalent propionate, levels shown to exert strong anti-microbial activity in previous work. Results: The MF bio-ingredient contained vitamer 5-formyltetrahydrofolate, known to be metabolically active and shown in baking tests to have higher stability (ca 60% recovery) than endogenous folate (35% recovery) derived from flour. Production of liquid MF ingredient in cereal-based medium using optimal conditions led to levels of folate and B12 as high as ca 6000 ng/ml, and 1000 ng/ml, respectively. Most bread-making and final quality determinations were acceptable for industry applications, as shown by physico-chemical, texture and sensory analyses. Conclusions: This co-culture technology and MF bio-ingredients have good potential for natural food fortification, allowing to reach or exceed vitamin levels required for EU authorized health claims. In addition to bringing innovation to the baking sector, it represents a new source for developing natural food supplements.