Reduction of cholesterol content in milk with dairy thermophilic cultures application

The ability to reduce cholesterol content in milk of 4 and 8% fat content was determined. The milk was acidified with 7 different thermophilic inocula applied in the production of yogurt and yogurt-like products. The tested fermented products showed active acidity in the range pH 4.56-5.10, which was answered by titratable acidity from 24.4 to 37.5 °SH. The level of cholesterol reduction depended mainly on the applied microorganisms and was from 3.1-3.2% (composition of the inoculum: Streptococcus salivarius ssp. thermophilus, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Lactobacillus acidophilus) to 19.8-22.2% (composition of the inoculum: Str. salivarius ssp. thermophilus, L. delbruecki ssp. bulgaricus). A higher degree of cholesterol content reduction was observed in products of lower fat content. The kind and properties of the applied microorganisms effected the level of lipolytic transformations in the product as well as the content of free fatty acids (FFA). The highest (triple) increase of FFA occurred in the products acidified with the following inocula: Str. salivarius ssp. thermophilus, L. delbruecki ssp. bulgaricus, L. acidophilus.