Four strains of lactic acid bacteria which had cholesterol lowering activities were selected from foreign fermented milk. The strains were identified as Lactobacillus(L.) rhamnosus 2084, L. casei 0781, Lactococcus (Lacto.) lactic spp. 204, and Enterococcus(E.) faecium 402. We observed that the L. rhamnosus 2084 was the most tolerant against pH 1.5, L. casei 0781 against pH 2.0, but not significantly different in the tolerance against pH 3.0. The L. rhamnosus 2084 was the most tolerant against bile acid and prominent in the degree of lowering cholesterol level. All four strains were used as starters in producing yogurt, and then investigated physico-chemical characteristics, such as pH, titratable acidity, and viable cell counts of yogurt base. L. casei 0781, L. rhamnosus 2084, Lacto. lactis 204, and E. faecium 402 were incubated for 6 hours at 40¡É, 4 hours at 40¡É, 6 hours at 37¡É, and 12 hours at 37¡É and 40¡É, respectively, for the optimum conditions of fermented milk.
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