Development of an ad hoc starter culture for the production of functional raw ewes’ milk cheeses through the addition of grape pomace powder

The present work was carried out to select lactic acid bacteria (LAB) resistant to polyphenols in order to develop an ad hoc starter culture for the production of functional fresh ewes’ milk cheeses through the addition of grape pomace powder (GPP). To this purpose, raw ewes’ milk samples were inoculated with individual polyphenols belonging to five classes: flavanols (cathechin, epicatechin and epigallocathechin), flavonols (quercetin), flavones (rutin), hydroxyl-benzoic acid (vanillic acid and syringic acid) and hydroxyl-cinnamic acid (caffeic acid and cumaric acid). These polyphenols are commonly associated with the wine industry by-products and were added in milk to a final concentratio…