## 4 Discussion  
The functional food concept is still the current trend in developing novel food technology, as nutrition plays an important role in improving well-being. The Functional Food Center (FFC) defines functional food as \"natural or processed foods that contain known or unknown biologically-active compounds; the foods, in defined, effective, and non-toxic  
Figure 4: Principal component analysis (PCA) graph of the selected sensory attributes, total carotenoids content and parameters of color measurement in the investigated samples of functional pumpkin frozen desserts. Explanatory notes: The presented samples are coded according to Section 2; Table 1. The abbreviations: \(\Delta\)E, L\({}^{\star}\), a\({}^{\star}\), and b\({}^{\star}\) correspond to color components. amounts, provide a clinically proven and documented health benefit for the prevention, management, or treatment of chronic disease\" [36]. These biologically-active compounds can be obtained from various sources, e.g., vitamins, minerals, antioxidant compounds, polyphenols, prebiotics, or probiotics. Non-dairy frozen desserts are feasible food matrices for the incorporation of probiotics. However, in the case of plant-based frozen desserts, raw material, ingredients of the recipe and stages of the manufacture process can significantly affect the viability of probiotic bacteria [37]. According to [PERSON] et al. (2020) [38], viability is a crucial requirement to meet the definition of a probiotic. The probiotic efficacy is dependent upon delivering an adequate dose throughout the product's shelf life. probiotic cells must survive passage through the gastrointestinal tract, reach the colon in sufficient numbers, and finally adhere to and colonize the gut epithelium. Probiotic dosages typically range between \(10^{7}\) and \(10^{11}\) colony-forming units (CFU)/day [39; 40]. [PERSON] et al. (2016) [41] suggested that _Lactobacillus_ strains may metabolize and adhere to pumpkin's polysaccharides. In this study, pumpkin pulps fermented with probiotic bacteria as semi-product for functional frozen desserts manufacture were used. In all investigated sorbents the numbers of LAB bacteria were detected as higher than 8.30 log CFU /g (Figure 1). These findings are in agreement with other authors [42; 43; 44] and suggest that one portion of pumpkin sorbet can serve as a therapeutic dose of probiotics. For example, [PERSON] et al. (2021) [42] reported that the count of probiotic LAB strain _Lactiplantiobacillus plantarum_ 299v in fresh non-fermented avocado ice cream ranged from 3.9 CFU/g to 8.1 CFU/g, respectively, depending on the method of inoculum application. On the other hand, [PERSON] et al. (2021) [43] observed counts of 6.5 CFU/g and 7.5 log CFU/g for the _L. plantarum_ Q823 in a frozen functional vegan blackcurrant product with quinoa fermented base. In turn, [PERSON] et al. (2021) [44] reported the stability of the jucara and banana sorbets, with probiotic viability above 7.9 log CFU/mL. In the present study, we observed higher counts of LAB bacteria in sorbet samples (SMY1; SMY2) based on fermented pumpkin pulps of the cultivar \"_Melon Yellow_\" of the _Cicurbia maxima_ species. The fact can be explained by the higher total sugar content in this plant cultivar (Table 4). It is important to observe that after the fermentation process, LAB count increased, while pH value and sugar content decreased. However, within a particular variety, we observed a tendency related to a significantly higher count of LAB bacteria in products fermented with bacterial strain _L. casei_ O14, which was isolated from the plant-origin food matrix [23] in comparison to human origin _L. rhamns_ Lock 0900. This observation can be important for product development strategies. The selection of appropriate probiotic strains should take into account both functional properties for human health and technological suitability, such as good survivability and resistance to harsh technological conditions.