| Summary: | A beetroot beverage with Lactobacillus casei 431 as the probiotic microorganism was tested for sensory acceptability at 3 fermentation periods of 2, 4 and 6 hours at 37oC. The beverage fermented for 2 hours yielded the highest overall sensory acceptability. L. casei 431 grew well and reached nearly 108 CFU/ mL after 2 hours of fermentation at 37oC. Although the lactic culture in the fermented beetroot beverage gradually lost its viability during cold storage, viable cell count of lactic acid bacteria remained at 106–108 CFU/mL after 4 weeks of cold storage at 4oC. Titratable acidity increased significantly from 5.5±0.05 to 3.45x108 (P≤ 0.05) during storage. This study concludes that this beetroot-based synbiotic fermented beverage could be developed as a ready-to-drink product and kept for 6 weeks under refrigerated storage, meeting the standard 108–1010 CFU/mL of a functional drink.
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