J Food Sci Technol

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-022-05356-w

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Development of fortified probiotic dairy desserts with added date

extract, whey protein, inulin, folic acid, vitamin D and calcium
Fatemeh Hemmati1 • Azam Abbasi2 • Alireza Bedeltavana3 • Mehdi Akbari4 •

Vahid Baeghbali2 • Seyed Mohammad Mazloomi2,5

Revised: 21 December 2021 / Accepted: 21 December 2021

Ó Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2022

Abstract This study aimed to develop fortified dairy
desserts containing Lactobacillus casei and evaluate the
physicochemical, sensory, and microbiological character-
istics of the product during 28 days of storage. Seven dairy
desserts were formulated by date extract (8%), whey pro-
tein (1.56%), inulin (4%(, folic acid (0.00066%), vitamin D
(0.002%) and gluconate calcium (0.66%). The addition of
date extract and inulin increased total solids while whey
protein incorporation into dairy desserts led to the
improvement of protein and phosphorous content. Fur-
thermore, all fortified dairy desserts showed higher
antioxidant activity and total phenolic content. Fortification
of dairy desserts had no negative effect on the sensory
acceptability and syneresis was not observed. In addition,
the pH reduction and increased acidity did not adversely
affect the count of L. casei, which remained above 8 log
CFU g-1 during storage. Consequently, the fortified dairy
dessert developed in this research is an innovative food
& Seyed Mohammad Mazloomi
smmazloomi@gmail.com
1
Student Research Committee, School of Nutrition and Food
Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
2
Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, School of
Nutrition and Food Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical
Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
3
Department of Research and Development, Zarrin-Ghazal
Co, Shiraz, Iran
4 In this regard, milk-based desserts are appropriate
Department of Food Science, Engineering and Technology,
College of Agriculture and Natural Resource, University of
Tehran, Karaj, Iran
5
Food and Supplements Safety Research Center, Shiraz
University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
product with good acceptability and high nutritional
quality.
Keywords Desserts  Dairy technology  Whey protein 
Probiotics  Inulin  Fortification
Introduction
Micronutrient deficiencies are of important public health
and socioeconomic problems worldwide, leading to meta-
bolic disorders, reduced resistance to infections and
delayed psychomotor and physical development (Tulchin-
sky 2010; Bouis and Saltzman 2003). According to the
World Health Organization (WHO), more than 2 billion
people suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, globally
(Tulchinsky 2010). Therefore, food fortification could be
used as a good strategy to prevent or correct nutrient
deficiencies and, hence to balance the nutrient composition
of a diet (Tulchinsky 2010; Dwyer et al. 2015). In general,
food fortification is the process of adding essential nutri-
ents to a particular food and aims to improve the nutritional
quality of the food and amend the nutrient deficiencies in
the society (Dwyer et al. 2015). As a result, in recent years,
interest has increased on functional foods with alleged
health benefits. New functional products are produced by
changing regular food formulations, adding healthy ingre-
dients (e.g. soluble fiber, vitamins, phytosterols) and
replacing or eliminating particular components (González-
Tomás et al. 2009).
vehicle for the delivery functional compounds like pro-
teins, probiotic, prebiotics, vitamins and minerals. The
addition of whey proteins to milk desserts has different
effects on the functional and nutritional properties of the

123

final product. One of the most important attributes of whey
protein is its ability for heat-induced gel formation (El-
Garawany et al. 2005). In addition, they increase the pro-
tein content of food and contain vitamins, minerals and
lactose, which improve the nutritional value of the products
(Hegedušić et al. 1995). Date extract is the main and
general by-product of dates, which can serve as a sweet-
ening, thickening and flavoring agent in dairy products
(Jridi et al. 2015). Iran exported around 1.15 million tons of
date in a year, which accounted for 20 percent or so of the
global date export. A large amount of wastes produced
from dates will be processed to high valuable products like
date extract and date honey with different economic
advantages (Abdollahzadeh et al. 2018). Indeed, date
extract contains an optimal mixture of phytochemicals such
as dietary fibers, polyphenols, natural antioxidants and
other bioactive compounds that have shown an important
role in the prevention of different diseases (Jridi et al.
2015).
Additionally, dairy desserts are suitable food matrixes
for the addition of probiotics, as they have over 70%
moisture, pH greater than 6.0 and no competing microor-
ganisms, which are appropriate for the viability of these
strains (Heenan et al. 2004; Valencia et al. 2016). Potential
probiotic health benefits included cancer prevention and
control, reducing the serum cholesterol level, improving
the immune system, reducing diarrhea and constipation,
treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, and peptic ulcer
(Heenan et al. 2004; Mazloomi et al. 2011). Among the
commonly used Lactic acid bacteria (LAB), Lactobacillus
casei has been widely used in dairy products due to its
resistance under low temperature storage, demon-
strated viability, and particularly not affect the sensory
attributes of flavor and texture (Terpou et al. 2019;
Valencia et al. 2016). As a further matter, the viability of
probiotic microorganisms can be stimulated using prebi-
otics (Valencia et al. 2016). Prebiotic ingredients, such as
inulin, are non-digestive carbohydrates that increase the
growth and/or activity of gastrointestinal microflora to
confer a health benefit on the host and prevent the growth
of pathogens (Mazloomi et al. 2011). Moreover, inulin has
beneficial properties such as improving the flavor, taste and
texture of the food products, reducing blood cholesterol,
and increasing the absorption of calcium (González-Tomás
et al. 2009).
The results of our previous study have showed the high
nutritional value and antioxidant activity of fermented milk
products containing date extract. Although, formulation of
a dairy product containing date extract with higher
organoleptic acceptance is needed to become more attrac-
tive for consumer (Abdollahzadeh et al. 2018). Hence,
considering the importance of incorporation of date extract
as a by-product of date into the formulation of dairy
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J Food Sci Technol
desserts with better sensory acceptance and also, the
importance of developing functional foods according to
high prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies, the present
study aimed to develop fortified probiotic dairy dessert
formulations containing whey protein, date extract, inulin,
L. casei, calcium, vitamin D and folic acid and to evaluate
the physicochemical, sensory and microbiological charac-
teristics of the products during storage.
Materials and Methods
Preparation of the probiotic milk culture
Prior to the preparation of dairy desserts, 0.1 g/L DVS
(Direct Vat Set) type culture of L. casei (Chr. Hansen,
Hørsholm, Denmark) was aseptically dissolved in sterilized
whole milk (Apada, Iran) and stored at -188C. The culture
was thawed at 58C prior to inoculation and incubated at
378C for 2 h.
Production of dairy desserts
Seven formulations of dairy dessert (C, D, DW, DWI,
DWIF, DWIFV, DWIFVG) were prepared, as presented in
Table 1. For preparation of dairy desserts, the content of
xanthan gum (0.2%) and Corn starch (3%) ware kept
constant in all formulations. Seven dairy desserts were
formulated by sugar (10% in C and 4.4% in other formu-
lations), date extract (8% in all formulations except C),
whey protein (1.56% in all formulations except of C and
D), inulin (4%, except of C, D and DW), folic acid
(0.00066% in DWIF, DWIFV and DWIFVG formulations),
vitamin D (0.002% in DWIFV and DWIFVG formulations)
and gluconate calcium (0.66% in DWIFVG formulation),
according to Table 1. The ingredients were firstly weighed
and added to the whole milk and then mixed for 10 min.
After that, the mixture was heated for 5 min at 758C, fol-
lowed by cooling down to 378C. The incubated probiotic
culture was then inoculated (1%) under sterile conditions,
and mixed during 1–2 min. Finally, the formulations were
filled in 100 gm containers and stored at 58C for 28 days.
Determination of pH and acidity
The pH values of dairy desserts were determined using a
pH meter (Methrohm AG, Herisau, Switzerland). Titrat-
able acidity was measured by the titration method, using
0.1 N NaOH (Merck) solution according to AOAC (2004).
10 g of the sample was diluted with 20 mL of distilled
water and then titrated with 0.1 mol/L sodium hydroxide
solution till a faint pink color lasts for 30 s using a
J Food Sci Technol

Table 1 Quantities of
Ingredients Formulation Codes
ingredients (g 100 g-1) used in
the different dairy dessert C D DW DWI DWIF DWIFV DWIFVG
formulations
Whole milk 86.8 84.4 82.84 78.84 78.84 78.84 78.17
Xanthan gum 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
Sugar 10 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.4
Corn starch 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Date extract – 8 8 8 8 8 8
Whey protein – – 1.56 1.56 1.56 1.56 1.56
inulin – – – 4 4 4 4
Folic acid – – – – 0.00066 0.00066 0.00066
Vitamin D – – – – – 0.002 0.002
Calcium gluconate – – – – – – 0.66
Lactobacillus casei* 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
*The DVS (Direct Vat Set) type culture of L. casei (0.1 gr/L) dissolved in whole milk

phenolphthalein indicator. The results were expressed as
the percentage of lactic acid.
Syneresis index
g of dairy dessert sample was weighed and then centrifuged
(Sigma 3K30 Centrifuge) at 5000 9 g for 20 min at 58C.
The syneresis index (S) was defined as:
S = Ps/Pa 9 100.
Where: Ps is the supernatant weight (g) and Pa is the
total weight of the centrifuged sample (g) (Valencia et al.
2016).
Physicochemical analysis
For determination of total solids, the samples were air oven
dried at 105 ± 1 °C (Memmert, Schwabach, Germany)
(Gad et al., 2010). The ash content was determined by
incineration process of samples in a muffle furnace at
550 °C overnight (Rinaldoni et al., 2012). Total nitrogen
was measured using the micro-Kjeldahl method and the
protein content of dairy desserts was then calculated from
nitrogen content using a conversion factor of 6.38 (Hashim,
2001).
phosphorous content was determined using to the
method described by Rahmdel el al. (2017). In brief, 3–4 g
of each sample was incinerated in a muffle furnace
(Ex.1200-4L, Exciton Co. LTD., Mashhad, Iran) at 500 °C
overnight. The remaining white ashes were mixed with
5 mL of hydrochloric acid (HCl 37%; Merck, Darmstadt,
Germany) and boil-heated on a hot plate for 10 min. The
digests were diluted to a final volume of 40 mL with
deionized water in a beaker and boil-heated for 10 min.
After cooling adequately, the solutions were filtered and
diluted to 100 mL using deionized water. Then, 4 mL of
the solution was mixed with 25 mL of molybdovanadate
reagent (20 g L-1 ammonium molybdate, 1 g L-1 ammo-
nium metavanadate, and 140 mL L-1 concentrated nitric
acid). The final solution was diluted to a volume of 100 mL
with deionized water followed by 10 min setting at room
temperature. Finally, the absorbance was measured at
420 nm against a reagent blank (y = 41.053x,
R2 = 0.9972) using spectrophotometry (Apel PD-303,
Japan). Potassium dihydrogen phosphate was used as a
standard (Rahmdel et al. 2017).
The potassium content of dairy desserts was determined
using an EEL Flame photometer (Evans Electroselenium
Ltd., UK) according to Singh et al. (2015) method. The
color parameters L* (lightness-darkness), a* (red-green
axis) and b* (yellow-blue axis) values of the dairy dessert
formulations were measured using ColorFlex EZ (Hun-
terLab. USA) according as the method described by Jridi
et al. (2015). Total color difference (DE) between fortified
samples and the control sample (C) was calculated using
the following equation:
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
2  2  2
DE ¼ Li  Lc þ ai  ac þ bi  bc
where L*i, a*i and b*i are the color parameters of the for-
tified samples and L*c, a*c and b*c are the color parameters
of the control sample (Baeghbali et al. 2020).
Preparation of dairy dessert water extracts
The dairy dessert sample (10 g) was mixed with 2.5 mL of
distilled water and the pH was acidified to 4.0 using 0.1 M
HCl. Then, the mixture was heated in a water bath at 458C
for 10 min followed by centrifugation (5000 g, 20 min,
48C). Then, 0.5 M NaOH was added to adjust the super-
natant pH to 7.0. The neutralized supernatant was cen-
trifuged (5000 g, 20 min, 48C) and the supernatant was

123

gathered and then used for determination of total phenolic
content of dairy desserts (Amirdivani and Salihin Baba
2011).
Total phenolic assay
1.0 mL of dairy dessert water extract was mixed with
1.0 mL of 95% ethanol and 5.0 mL of distilled water in a
test tube. Then, 0.5 mL of Folin-Ciocalteu reagent 50% v/v
was added and mixed. After five minutes, 1.0 mL of Na2-
CO3 solution (5% w/v) was added and then the reaction
mixture was left to stand for 60 min at room temperature.
The absorbance was measured at 725 nm by a spec-
trophotometer (PD-303, Japan) and the results converted
into total phenolics and expressed in micrograms of gallic
acid equivalents per mL sample (lg GAE mL-1). Gallic
acid was used as standard (Amirdivani and Salihin Baba
2011).
Antioxidant activity by 1,1-diphenyl-2-
picrylh1ydrazyl (DPPH)
For this assay, 0.4 mL of dairy dessert extract was added to
1.6 mL of 0.1 mM DPPH (Sigma-Aldrich, Germany) in
95% ethanol. The decrease in absorbance was measured at
517 nm against the control sample that contained ethanol
(0.4 mL) instead of the dairy dessert extract. The inhibition
percentage was calculated as follows (Razaei et al. 2013):
 Control  pH, acidity and microbiological analysis during 1, 7, 14, 21
A517  Aextract
517
Inhibition % ¼  100
AC0ntrol
517
Ferric-Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) assay
Ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) of dairy dessert
samples was determined according to the method of Benzie
and Strain (1996) with some modifications. The FRAP
reagent was prepared by mixing 10 mM TPTZ solution in
40 M HCl, 20 mM FeCl3 solution and 300 mM acetate
buffer (pH = 3.6) in proportions of 1:1:10 (v/v/v). Then,
1 mL of dairy dessert extract was mixed with 3 mL of the
FRAP reagent and incubated at 37 °C for 5 min. The
absorbance was determined at 593 nm against a blank
reagent. The standard curve was determined using ascorbic
acid and the values were expressed as milligrams ascorbic
acid equivalent (AAE) per milliliter of the extract (Benzie
and Strain 1996).
Sensory evaluation
The sensory evaluation was performed by ten trained
panelists (five females and five males, 24–40 years old)
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J Food Sci Technol
according to a five-point hedonic scale, ranging from one
(extremely disliked) to five (extremely liked) after 10 days
of storage. Different dairy desserts formulations were dis-
tributed in plastic cups randomly coded with specific
numbers; then, the panelists were asked to evaluate the
sensory properties including color, aroma, taste, texture,
and overall acceptability (OA) (Jridi et al. 2015).
Microbiological analysis
For microbiological analysis, 10 g of the dairy dessert
sample was dissolved in 90 ml of 0.1% sterile peptone
water and serial dilutions were prepared. Then, 1 ml of
each dilution was inoculated into MRS agar (MRS agar;
Merck, Darmstadt, Germany) and the plates were anaero-
bically incubated at 378C for 72 h. Finally, the results were
expressed as log CFU g-1 (Aghajani et al. 2012).
Statistical analysis
All the experiments were performed in triplicate and the
results were expressed as the mean ± standard deviation
(SD). For physicochemical and microbial data, one-way
ANOVA was used followed by the Duncan test to evaluate
the presence of any significant difference between the
results. The sensory data (nonparametric data) were ana-
lyzed, using the Kruskal–Wallis test. The ‘‘Repeated
Measures ANOVAs’’ were used to test mean differences in
and 28 days of storage and ‘‘Paired-Samples T Test’’ was
used to compare means obtained from total phenolic con-
tent and antioxidant activity after 1 and 28 days in the
storage time. The statistical analyses were carried out using
the SPSS software, version 19 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL,
USA) considering 5% of significance (P \ 0.05).
Results
Determination of pH and acidity
Figure 1 shows the pH values and acidity of the plain and
fortified dairy desserts. The pH values decreased and the
titratable acidity increased significantly over a 28-day
storage period. Moreover, a significant difference
(P \ 0.05) was observed in pH values and titratable acidity
between the plain and fortified dairy desserts. All fortified
formulations had significantly lower pH and higher acidity
during storage which attributed to the acidic nature of date
extract, added to the products.
J Food Sci Technol

Fig. 1 a pH and b acidity (a)

values in the dairy dessert 7
formulations during 28 days of
refrigerated (5 °C) storage
6.5
Values are shown as
mean ± standard deviation of
three replicates. C: probiotic 6
dairy dessert (control); D:
probiotic dairy dessert with date

pH
5.5
extract; DW: probiotic dairy
dessert with date extract and
whey protein; DWI: probiotic 5
dairy dessert with date extract,
whey protein and inulin; DWIF:
4.5
probiotic dairy dessert with date
extract, whey protein, inulin and
folic acid; DWIFV: probiotic 4
dairy dessert with date extract, 1 7 14 21 28
whey protein, inulin, folic acid Days
and vitamin D; DWIFVG:
C D DW DWI DWIF DWIFV DWIFVG
probiotic dairy dessert with date
extract, whey protein, inulin,
folic acid, vitamin D and (b)
calcium gluconate 80

70
Acidity (% lactic acid)

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
1 7 14 21 28
Days
C D DW DWI DWIF DWIFV DWIFVG

Physicochemical analysis In contrast, no significant differences were observed for the

The results of physicochemical characterization of the
seven formulations on the first day are shown in Table 2. It
was observed that the phosphorous and potassium content
of dairy desserts ranged from 195.61 to 276.30 and 125.33
to 233.33 mg 100gr-1, respectively. The addition of date
extract and inulin increased total solid content signifi-
cantly. Furthermore, the samples fortified with date extract,
whey protein and calcium had significantly higher ash
content. Whey protein incorporation into dairy desserts led
to the significant improvement of protein content. In
addition, syneresis was not observed in the seven studied
formulations during the 28 days of storage. A significant
difference in the a* and b* values of the dairy desserts were
obvious as the formulation of these dairy desserts differed.
L* parameter, with values ranging from 57.17 to 65.62
(P [ 0.05).
Total phenolic content (TPC)
As shown in Fig. 2, all the fortified dairy desserts showed
significantly higher total phenolic content than the plain
dairy dessert (C: control). Obviously, date extract incor-
poration into dairy desserts led to the significant
improvement of total phenolic content as compared to the
plain dairy dessert (P \ 0.05). Additionally, the TPC of all
fortified dairy desserts was increased during storage
(P [ 0.05), while plain dairy dessert (C) exhibited a
decrease in TPC over the 28 day storage period.
(P \ 0.05).

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18.99
19.35
19.23
19.31
19.60
20.54

whey protein and inulin; DWIF: probiotic dairy dessert with date extract, whey protein, inulin and folic acid; DWIFV: probiotic dairy dessert with date extract, whey protein, inulin, folic acid
Antioxidant properties

C: probiotic dairy dessert (control); D: probiotic dairy dessert with date extract; DW: probiotic dairy dessert with date extract and whey protein; DWI: probiotic dairy dessert with date extract,
DE

–
The results of antioxidant activity of the dairy desserts are

17.08 ± 0.38bc
15.39 ± 1.28b

20.25 ± 0.64d
0.27 ± 0.38a

18.41 ± 1.26c

17.69 ± 0.58c
17.30 ± 1.82
given in Fig. 2. All fortified dairy desserts had significantly
higher antioxidant activities than the plain dairy dessert
(C) during the refrigerated storage. Moreover, date extract
b*

incorporation into dairy dessert formulations led to the

significant improvement of the anti-DPPH and the reducing
-2.37 ± 0.30a
b

1.63 ± 0.09b
b

1.56 ± 0.10b
1.60 ± 0.09b
1.11 ± 0.09c
1.59 ± 0.02

1.51 ± 0.08
power activities (P \ 0.05).

Sensory properties
a*

The results of the sensory evaluation of dairy desserts in

65.62 ± 4.47a
a

59.86 ± 5.10a
57.17 ± 1.32a
a

57.55 ± 3.68a
62.96 ± 2.59a
54.83 ± 3.97

57.38 ± 6.26

Fig. 3 showed that the taste, texture and overall accept-

ability scores were significantly different. Whey protein
Color

and vitamin D; DWIFVG: probiotic dairy dessert with date extract, whey protein, inulin, folic acid, vitamin D and calcium gluconate addition caused a significant increment in texture score, as
L*

the lowest value was recorded for plain dessert. However,

125.33 ± 19.42a
a

198.33 ± 37.52a

175.00 ± 35.35a
177.50 ± 36.06a
203.00 ± 26.90

174.50 ± 45.96

there was no significant difference in the color and aroma

174.50 ± 9.19a
(mg 100 g-1)

attributes among different formulations. Fortification of

Potassium

dairy dessert with folic acid, vitamin D and calcium had no

negative effect on the sensory characteristics of the prod-
ucts, as the formulation containing all ingredients gained
the highest score for overall acceptability.

Microbiological analysis
Phosphorous (mg

276.30 ± 22.97b
247.95 ± 11.33b

267.58 ± 11.33b
265.40 ± 24.76b
195.61 ± 40.85a
a
197.79 ± 13.61

b
241.41 ± 6.54

As shown in Fig. 4, the population of L. casei in the pro-

100 g-1)

biotic and synbiotic formulations remained above 8 log

*Results followed by different letters in the column are significantly different at P \ 0.05

CFU g-1 during the 28 days of refrigerated storage.

Moreover, the count of L.casei was gradually increased in
the dairy desserts during storage periods.
4.22 ± 0.22bcd

3.95 ± 0.10acd
bd

4.40 ± 0.10bd
ac

4.61 ± 0.25b
3.56 ± 0.44a
3.80 ± 0.22

4.40 ± 0.45
Protein (%)

Discussion
b

0.99 ± 0.02d

The pH values reduced and titratable acidity increased

0.55 ± 0.01a

0.80 ± 0.01c
0.81 ± 0.01c
c

0.81 ± 0.00c
0.71 ± 0.00

0.81 ± 0.00

significantly throughout 28 days of storage (Fig. 1).

Ash (%)

Among the seven formulations, the highest pH values were

Table 2 Physicochemical properties of dairy desserts

observed in the plain dairy dessert. As expected, dairy

desserts containing date extract had lower pH and higher
b

75.45 ± 0.47b
77.02 ± 0.12a

71.68 ± 0.18c
71.57 ± 0.40c
Moisture (%)

76.06 ± 0.23

71.68 ± 0.29
71.7 ± 0.59c

acidity than C sample which attributed to the acidic nature

of the added date extract. Similar findings have been
described by Jridi et al. (2015) who observed a significant
decrease in pH of dairy dessert samples containing date by-
products (Jridi et al. 2015).
Total solids (%)

22.97 ± 0.12a*
b

24.54 ± 0.47b
28.29 ± 0.59c
c

28.31 ± 0.18c
28.42 ± 0.40c
23.93 ± 0.23

28.31 ± 0.29

The results also showed that the pH values of all for-

mulations decreased and the titratable acidity increased
significantly during storage period (P \ 0.05). This result
was expected as L. casei is a heterofermentative lacto-
bacillus that converts lactose into lactic acid, acetic acid,
Formulation

DWIFVG

and carbon dioxide, which will in turn lead to medium

DWIFV
DWIF

acidification (Valencia et al. 2016). Moreover, the presence

DWI
DW

of whey protein and date extract in dairy dessert

D
C

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J Food Sci Technol

Fig. 2 antioxidant activities (a)

(2a. DPPH and 2b. FRAP) and
140

Total phenolic content (ugGAE/100mL)

2c. total phenolic content
bc
(lgGAE mL-1) in dairy 120 c c bc c bc c bc bc b
b b
desserts during 28 days of
refrigerated (5 °C) storage 100
Values are shown as
80
mean ± standard deviation of
three replicates. Results 60 aA
followed by different letters, aB
within the same storage day, are 40
significantly different at
P \ 0.05. Results followed by 20
different capital letters, within 0
the same formulation, are 1 28
significantly different at Days
P \ 0.05. C: probiotic dairy
dessert (control); D: probiotic C D DW DWI DWIF DWIFV DWIFVG
dairy dessert with date extract;
DW: probiotic dairy dessert (b)
with date extract and whey
Antioxidant potency by Frap (mg AAE/ mL)

0.16
protein; DWI: probiotic dairy c
dessert with date extract, whey 0.14 bA b b c b b
protein and inulin; DWIF: bA b b
probiotic dairy dessert with date 0.12 bB bB
extract, whey protein, inulin and 0.1
folic acid; DWIFV: probiotic
dairy dessert with date extract, 0.08
whey protein, inulin, folic acid
0.06
and vitamin D; DWIFVG:
probiotic dairy dessert with date 0.04 aA
extract, whey protein, inulin, aB
folic acid, vitamin D and 0.02
calcium gluconate 0
1 28
Days

C D DW DWI DWIF DWIFV DWIFVG

(c)
100 bc bc c bcA bc b b bc
bc bc bcB b
90
80
DPPH inhibition (%)

70 aA
60 aB

50
40
30
20
10
0
1 28
Days

C D DW DWI DWIF DWIFV DWIFVG

formulations led to the accumulation of acetic acid, butyric and coconut flan inoculated with L. paracasei subsp.
acid, citric acid, formic acid, acetaldehyde and lactic acid paracasei LBC (Correa et al. 2008).
via the breakdown of sugar and protein compounds (Shori There was no syneresis in the seven formulations during
and Baba 2011). Similar findings have been described for the 28 days of storage which could be attributed to the high
dairy dessert containing L. paracasei (Valencia et al. 2016) total solid content in the fortified dairy desserts. Besides,
xanthan gum, as anionic hydrocolloid, is capable of

123

reinforcing the texture of the dairy desserts by interacting
with the positive charges on the surface of casein micelles,
which leads to higher water retention. Similar findings have
been reported for dairy dessert samples containing xanthan
gum during 28 days of storage (Valencia et al. 2016).
Furthermore, fortification of dairy desserts with calcium
considerably influences the released water quantities of
dairy desserts which is mainly related to the higher col-
loidal calcium phosphate cross-linking between casein
micelles and more intense gel structure formation of dairy
dessert (Singh and Muthukumarappan 2008). Our result is
in line with that of reported by Pawlos et al. (2016) which
described reduced whey leakage in kefirs enriched with
25 mg and 30 mg Ca in 100 g of milk (Pawlos et al. 2016).
As a matter of fact, the total solids content is one of the
main factors influencing the firmness, body and texture of
the products. DWIFVG formulation had the highest total
solids (TS), but this parameter was the lowest in the plain
dairy dessert. The variation of total solids content was due
to date extract and inulin addition, which significantly
increased total solids content in D and DWI formulations
compared to C and DW. Our results agree to those reached
by Muzammil et al. (2017) who observed that the supple-
mentation of yogurts with inulin significantly increased the
total solids compared to the control (Muzammil et al.
2017). Moreover, the addition of date extract, whey protein
and calcium to dairy desserts increased significantly the ash
contents, confirming previous results on ice cream
Fig. 3 Sensory average scores
of dairy desserts C: probiotic
dairy dessert (control); D:
probiotic dairy dessert with date
extract; DW: probiotic dairy
dessert with date extract and
whey protein; DWI: probiotic
dairy dessert with date extract,
whey protein and inulin; DWIF:
probiotic dairy dessert with date
extract, whey protein, inulin and OA
folic acid; DWIFV: probiotic
dairy dessert with date extract,
whey protein, inulin, folic acid
and vitamin D; DWIFVG:
probiotic dairy dessert with date
extract, whey protein, inulin,
folic acid, vitamin D and
calcium gluconate
Texture
C D
123
J Food Sci Technol
containing date extract (Sadeghi Amiri et al. 2014). In
accordance with the results of El-Zeini et al. (2016), the
incorporation of whey protein yields the most protein-en-
riched formulation, due to the high protein content
observed in this component compared to the others. Our
data showed that dairy dessert formulated with date extract
and whey protein (DW) had the highest phosphorous
content compared to other formulations, probably due to
the greater phosphorous content in whey protein. In con-
trast, no significant difference in potassium content was
observed among different dairy desserts. Concerning b*
values, which represent yellowness, they were increased
(P \ 0.05) by date extract, whey protein and calcium
addition (Table 2). The color of dairy desserts containing
date extract influenced by the presence of natural pigments
such as carotenoids (beta carotene and lutein) and flavo-
noids (quercetin and catechin) (Karbasi et al. 2014). These
observations are similar to those reported by Jridi et al.
(2008), which tested the effect of date powder and date
syrup addition on dairy dessert color (Jridi et al. 2015).
Moreover, there was an increase in the a* (redness) value
with the incorporation of date extract and inulin, while the
dairy dessert containing whey protein (DW) showed sig-
nificantly lower a* values compared to the D sample.
In the present study, the date extract incorporation into
dairy desserts resulted in a great improvement in total
phenolic content as compared to the plain dairy dessert
(P \ 0.05) (Fig. 2). Therefore, date extract is a good
Color
5
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5 Flavor
1
0.5
0
Taste
DW DWI DWIF DWIFV DWIFVG
J Food Sci Technol
9.5
Numbers of viable cells (Log CFU/g)
9
8.5
7.5
1 7
C D DW
Fig. 4 Survival of Lactobacillus casei added to dairy dessert
formulations during 28 days of refrigerated (5 °C) storage Values
are shown as mean ± standard deviation of three replicates. Day 1
refers to the first day after inoculation. C: probiotic dairy dessert
(control); D: probiotic dairy dessert with date extract; DW: probiotic
dairy dessert with date extract and whey protein; DWI: probiotic dairy
source of various biologically active compounds such as
phenolic acids, flavonoids, anthocyanins, and mineral
selenium (total phenolic compounds) that justifies its role
in the dairy dessert formulations. Similarly, Jridi et al.
(2015) indicated that the dairy desserts containing date by-
products were the richest desserts in total phenolic com-
pounds (Jridi et al. 2015). Besides, the dairy dessert con-
taining whey protein (DW) showed a significant increase in
TPC compared to the D sample on the first day due to the
presence of whey protein in the respective formulation.
Although not difference, all fortified dairy desserts pos-
sessed a higher TPC during refrigerated storage (Fig. 2). In
fact, lactic acid bacteria degrade the polymeric phenolics
and use ferulic and p-coumaric acid during the storage
period; this leads to the production of phenolic compounds
such as vanillic and p-hydroxybenzoic acids (Amirdivani
and Salihin Baba 2011) and explains the increment in TPC
during storage.
Considering the lack of an accepted standard method for
the assessment of antioxidant activities of foods and the
complexity of bioactive compounds reactivity, the antiox-
idant activity of the dairy desserts was examined via two
methods. Compared to the plain dairy dessert, date extract
incorporation significantly improved the anti-DPPH and
the reducing power activities (P \ 0.05), confirming pre-
vious reports on dairy desserts fortified with date by-
products (Jridi et al. 2015). From these data, it could be
concluded that the incorporation of the date extract into
14 21 28
Days
DWI DWIF DWIFV DWIFVG
dessert with date extract, whey protein and inulin; DWIF: probiotic
dairy dessert with date extract, whey protein, inulin and folic acid;
DWIFV: probiotic dairy dessert with date extract, whey protein,
inulin, folic acid and vitamin D; DWIFVG: probiotic dairy dessert
with date extract, whey protein, inulin, folic acid, vitamin D and
calcium gluconate
dairy dessert formulations could be an effective alternative
to produce health-promoting products with novel proper-
ties. Moreover, dairy dessert containing whey protein
(DW) exhibited significantly higher reducing power
activity than the D sample. It can be attributed to the
presence of peptides in WPC, which is in agreement with
published findings (Bierzuńska et al. 2017). Additionally,
the reduction of antioxidant activities during the storage of
dairy desserts could be explained by the increasing
degradation of phenolic compounds with antioxidant
activities and/or increasing phenolic compounds-casein
interactions in dairy products (Amirdivani and Salihin
Baba. 2011).
Based on the results of sensory evaluation, the DWI
formulation was more acceptable by the consumers in
terms of taste compared to the DW sample (P \ 0.05).
With this result, it is evident that dairy desserts fortified
with inulin gained higher scores for taste properties due to
the low degrees of polymerization in oligo-fructoses and
large amounts of free sugars, like glucose and fructose,
which has 30–50% of the sucrose sweetening power
(Valencia et al. 2016). This is consistent with another study
investigating the effect of inulin on the sensory properties
of frozen yogurt, in which the most appealing sensory
characteristics (flavor, texture and total acceptance) were
found due to the presence of inulin in the product (Rezaei
et al. 2014). Furthermore, dairy dessert containing whey
protein and date extract (DW) had significantly better
123

scores for the texture compared to the D sample. This could
be attributed to the whey protein addition that improved the
texture and also enhanced the gel firmness, as suggested by
Vidigal et al. (2012).
According to the present results and relying on the OA
scores, the DWIFVG sample containing date extract, whey
protein, inulin, folic acid, vitamin D and calcium selected
as the most appreciated formulation by the panelists and
gained the highest score for overall acceptability. There-
fore, it could be concluded that fortification of dairy dessert
with folic acid, vitamin D and calcium had no negative
effect on the sensory characteristics of the products, con-
firming previous studies on yogurt fortified with calcium
and vitamin D (Singh and Muthukumarappan 2008;
Kaushik and Arora 2017).
Probiotic products should have the recommended min-
imum of 7 log CFU g-1 probiotic microorganisms for
health benefits (Stanton et al. 2005). In the present study,
the population of L. casei in the probiotic and synbiotic
formulations remained above 8 log CFU g-1 throughout
the 28 days of refrigerated storage. Our results showed the
role of the dairy dessert matrix, as an appropriate medium
to maintain the viability of probiotic strains. Therefore, the
present dairy dessert formulations provided a stable num-
ber of viable probiotic cells in excess of the recommended
minimum during the storage period.
The concentration of lactic acid is an important agent in
the viability of probiotic cells. Despite the significant pH
reduction and increment in acidity (Fig. 1), the viability of
probiotic cells was not adversely affected during the
refrigerating period of the formulations, corroborating the
data reported by Valencia et al. (2016) who observed the
maintenance of minimum amounts of viable probiotic cells
during storage (Valencia et al. 2016). Therefore, L. casei
represented greater survivability in the dairy desserts dur-
ing the 28 days of storage (8 log CFU g-1), which provides
a potential probiotic product with health benefits to
consumers.
Conclusion
In this study, date extract was used as sugar replacement in
fortified probiotic dairy desserts. The viable count of L.
casei in dairy desserts remained at the recommended level
during the 28 days of storage. In addition, the replacement
of sugar by date extract increased the antioxidant activity
and total phenolic content of fortified dairy desserts com-
pared to plain dessert; also, it reduced the amount of sugar
in the final product. The incorporation of whey protein and
inulin showed a great improvement in the nutritional and
physicochemical properties of fortified dairy desserts
which justified their roles in dairy desserts formulations.
123
J Food Sci Technol
Taking into account the acceptability scores, the dairy
dessert prepared according to the DWIFVG formulation
(containing all the added nutrients) gained the highest score
for overall acceptability, so fortification of dairy desserts
had no negative effect on the product’s sensory
acceptability.
Regarding deficiency and insufficiency of vitamin D,
folic acid and calcium among some patients and malnu-
trition prevalence in different groups of people, the forti-
fication of dairy desserts with different nutritious
ingredients not only can reduce the need for medication,
but also can improve the nutritional status of these patients
and more importantly, prevents further deterioration.
Therefore, it can be concluded that the fortified dairy
dessert developed in this research could be an innovative
functional food product with good acceptability for con-
sumers and high nutritional quality.
Acknowledgements The authors would like to appreciate Shiraz
University of Medical Sciences (project no. 95-01-106-12747) for
financially supporting the study. They are also grateful for Dr.
N. Shokrpour at Research and Consultation Center, Shiraz University
of Medical Sciences for editorial assistance.
Author Contributions FH carried out the experiment and wrote the
paper; AA supervised the work and contributed the analysis; AB and
MA helped supervise the work; VB edited the manuscript; SMM
conceived and supervised the work.
Funding The study was supported financially by Shiraz University of
Medical Sciences (project no. 95–01-106–12747).
Data availibility Not applicable.
Code availability Not applicable.
Declarations
Conflicts of interest The authors declared no potential conflicts of
interests with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this
paper.
Ethics approval Not applicable.
Consent to participate Not applicable.
Consent for publication Not applicable.
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