Investigating the effect of pH, different concentrations of glutamate acid and salt on production in low-fat probiotic cheese

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a non-protein amino acid produced by lactic acid bacteria. Among GABA-producing bacteria, lactic acid bacteria have received more attention due to their probiotic nature and properties such as inhibiting pathogenic bacteria, strengthening the immune system, and so on. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Investigation on the effect of three independent variables including pH (4.7, 4.9 and 5.1), glutamic acid (1, 2 and 3 mgg-1) and salt (2, 2.5 and 3%) on GABA production in low fat cheese by probiotic bacteria. RESULTS: By increasing the amount of glutamic acid and decreasing the pH from 5.1 to 4.7, the amount of GABA production in ultra-filtration cheese significantly increased on the 15(th) and 30(th) days of production (p≤0.05), while by increasing the amount of salt the production GABA decreased on the 15(th) and 30(th) days. Simultaneous optimal conditions to achieve maximum GABA production in cheese on the 15(th) and 30(th) production day was respectively 167.7917 mg/kg(−1) and 220.125 mg/kg(−1) using 3 mg/g glutamic acid, 2% salt at pH 4.7. CONCLUSION: The results showed that by identifying probiotic bacteria with the highest potential for GABA production and optimizing the culture medium, more GABA can be produced in food products and a positive step can be taken to produce pragmatic products and promote consumer health.