Lactobacillus helveticus Collection Cultures: Survival Rate during Lyophilization and Storage

Ninel Sorokina; Irina Kucherenko; Anna Duganova; Elena Masegnaya

doi:10.21603/1019-8946-2026-5-105

UDC 63

LACTOBACILLUS HELVETICUS COLLECTION CULTURES: SURVIVAL RATE DURING LYOPHILIZATION AND STORAGE Lactobacillus helveticus Collection Cultures: Survival Rate during Lyophilization and Storage

АА Аа

Published in Dairy industry · Issue 5, 2026 · Pages 35–41 · Rubric: Research Article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21603/1019-8946-2026-5-105 · EDN: TSCEYL

Received: 15.06.2026 Accepted: 15.09.2026 Published: 15.10.2026 Language of publication: RUS

Authors

Ninel Sorokina

SPIN

Irina Kucherenko

SPIN

Anna Duganova

SPIN

Elena Masegnaya

Ninel Sorokina

All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Butter- and Cheesemaking – Branch of V. M. Gorbatov Federal Research Center for Food Systems rukovoditel' eksperimental'noy biofabriki · Russian Federation · Moscow

SPIN

Irina Kucherenko

All-Russian Research Institute of Butter- and Cheesemaking, V. M. Gorbatov Federal Scientific Center for Food Systems Russian Federation · Uglich

SPIN

Anna Duganova

All-Russian Research Institute of Butter- and Cheesemaking, V. M. Gorbatov Federal Scientific Center for Food Systems Russian Federation · Uglich

SPIN

Elena Masegnaya

All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Butter- and Cheesemaking – Branch of V.M. Gorbatov Federal Research Center for Food Systems Russian Federation · Uglich

ABSTRACT

Lyophilization is a common drying method. It preserves microorganisms in bioresource collections, producing stable dry starter cultures and probiotics with a long shelf life. However, lyophilization always damages bacterial cells, killing a certain share of the population. Cryoprotectants and freezing can protect cells from damage and increase their survival rate. This article investigates the most effective pre-freezing conditions and cryoprotectants that provide the highest survival rates while retaining the metabolic activity of the thermophilic lactic acid bacterium Lactobacillus helveticus during freezedrying and subsequent storage. The research featured three pre-freezing temperatures (–20, –30, and –55°C) and two types of cryoprotectants (sucrose and trehalose at a 4% concentration). The lowest survival rates resulted from a pre-freezing temperature of –55°C, both with and without cryoprotectants. The highest survival rate of L. helveticus strain 158-16 during freeze-drying (32–33%) occurred after pre-freezing at –20°C with sucrose. The lowest survival rate (15%) belonged to the sample with trehalose. The survival rates for L. helveticus strain 305-10 were virtually identical for the samples with sucrose (26.6%) and trehalose (27.7%). Sucrose and trehalose as cryoprotectants reduced bacterial cell loss during 12 months of storage by a factor of 3 to 11 compared to the control without cryoprotection. Overall, the freeze-drying protocol with pre-freezing at –20°C with sucrose was able to increase the survival rate of the L. helveticus strains during freeze-drying and storage.

KEYWORDS

collection cultures, Lactobacillus helveticus, lyophilization, cryoprotectants, survival, storage, metabolic activity

Funding

The article was prepared as part of the research carried out under the state assignment No. FRFF 2023-0001 of the V. M. Gorbatov Federal Research Center for Food Systems of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

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Sorokina N. P., Kucherenko I. V., Duganova A. Y., Masegnaya E. S. Lactobacillus helveticus Collection Cultures: Survival Rate during Lyophilization and Storage // Dairy industry. 2026. no. 5. pp. 35-41. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21603/1019-8946-2026-5-105. EDN: TSCEYL. (Date of access 17.10.2026).

MLA

Ninel Sorokina, Kucherenko I. V., Duganova A. Y., Masegnaya E. S.. "Lactobacillus helveticus Collection Cultures: Survival Rate during Lyophilization and Storage." Dairy industry.5 (2026): 35-41. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21603/1019-8946-2026-5-105. EDN: TSCEYL.

APA

Sorokina N. P., Kucherenko I. V., Duganova A. Y., Masegnaya E. S. (2026). Lactobacillus helveticus Collection Cultures: Survival Rate during Lyophilization and Storage. Dairy industry(5), 35-41. https://doi.org/10.21603/1019-8946-2026-5-105 EDN: TSCEYL.

Chicago

Ninel Sorokina, Kucherenko I. V., Duganova A. Y., Masegnaya E. S.. "Lactobacillus helveticus Collection Cultures: Survival Rate during Lyophilization and Storage." Dairy industry, no. 5 (2026): 35-41. https://doi.org/10.21603/1019-8946-2026-5-105. EDN: TSCEYL.

WIKI

{{cite journal | author = Sorokina N. P., Kucherenko I. V., Duganova A. Y., Masegnaya E. S. | title = Lactobacillus helveticus Collection Cultures: Survival Rate during Lyophilization and Storage | journal = Dairy industry | year = 2026 | issue = 5 | pages = 35-41 | doi = 10.21603/1019-8946-2026-5-105 }} EDN: TSCEYL

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LACTOBACILLUS HELVETICUS COLLECTION CULTURES: SURVIVAL RATE DURING LYOPHILIZATION AND STORAGE Lactobacillus helveticus Collection Cultures: Survival Rate during Lyophilization and Storage

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