Production of short chain fatty acids and vitamin B12 during the in-vitro digestion and fermentation of probiotic chocolate

The prebiotic functions of chocolate to improve the function and health benefit of the chocolate when enriched with probiotics has not been fully investigated. This study investigated the role of chocolates enriched with probiotics in the production of SCFAs and vitamin B12 during the in-vitro colonic fermentation. Seven probiotic bacteria were encapsulated using a mixture of cocoa powder (10%), FOS (2%) and Na-alginate (1%) before added to chocolates. The results revealed that encapsulated Lactobacillus plantarum and Bifidobacterium animalis spp. lactis BB12 produced significantly higher amounts (1876.5 ± 105.16 and 1348.51 ± 77.37 mmol, respectively) of acetic acid after 48h of colonic fermentation. Chocolates with encapsulated BB12, La5, Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis and Streptococcus thermophilus yielded higher amounts of propionic, isobutyric, butyric and isovaleric acid. Probiotic-chocolates with 70% cocoa produced significantly more acetic, propionic, and butyric acids than that of 45% cocoa. However, Probiotic-chocolates with 45% cocoa produced greater amounts of vitamin B12 than 70% cocoa. These data demonstrate that probiotic-chocolate could be a functional snack with additional health benefits.