Probiotic in lamb rennet paste enhances rennet lipolytic activity, and conjugated linoleic acid and linoleic acid content in Pecorino cheese.

Cheeses manufactured using traditional lamb rennet paste, lamb rennet paste containing Lactobacillus acidophilus, and lamb rennet paste containing a mix of Bifidobacterium lactis and Bifidobacterium longum were characterized for the lipolytic pattern during ripening. Lipase activity of lamb rennet paste, lamb rennet containing Lb. acidophilus, and lamb rennet containing a mix of bifidobacteria was measured in sheep milk cream substrate. Rennet paste containing probiotics showed a lipase activity 2-fold greater than that displayed by traditional rennet. Total free fatty acid (FFA) in sheep milk cream was lower in lamb rennet paste (981 microg/g of milk cream) than in lamb rennet containing Lb. acidophilus (1,382.4 microg/g of milk cream) and in lamb rennet containing a mix of bifidobacteria (1,227.5 microg/g of milk cream) according to lipase activity of lamb rennet paste. The major increase of FFA in all cheeses occurred during the first 30 d of ripening with the greatest values being observed for C16:0, C18:0 C18:1. At 60 d of ripening all cheeses showed a reduction in the amount of free fatty acids; in particular, total free fatty acids underwent a decrease of more than 30% from 30 to 60 d in cheeses manufactured using traditional lamb rennet paste, whereas the same parameter decreased 10% in cheeses manufactured using lamb rennet paste containing Lb. acidophilus and cheeses manufactured using lamb rennet paste containing a mix of B. lactis and B. longum. Cheese containing Lb. acidophilus was characterized by the greatest levels of total conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) 9-cis, 11-trans CLA and 9-trans, 11-trans CLA, whereas cheese containing bifidobacteria displayed the greatest levels of free linoleic acid. Rennet pastes containing viable cells of Lb. acidophilus and a mix of B. lactis and B. longum were able to influence the amount of FFA and CLA in Pecorino cheese during ripening.