Fruit juices have been used as carriers of Lactobacillus spp., both because they are consumed by different age groups, as well as because of their nutritive value. This study assessed the performance of potentially probiotic fruit-derived freeze-dried Lactobacillus planatrum 49, during frozen storage (at -18 oC) and when incorporated into apple juice and stored under refrigerated conditions (4 ± 0.5 oC). The strain Lactobacillus plantarum 49 was isolated from byproducts of industrial Malpighia glabra L. - barbados cherry pulp processing and the probiotic potential and identification evaluated in a previous study. The impact of the freeze-dried strain on some physicochemical parameters (pH, acidity, total soluble solids, viscosity, color, sugars and organic acids) of juice, as well as their survival following exposure to simulated gastrointestinal conditions in fruit juices were evaluated. The freeze-dried strain maintained counts > 6 log cfu/mL up to 2 weeks of refrigerated storage in apple juice. Which may be associated with the ability of the strain to adapt well to apple juice, as has been reported in other studies. The values of titratable acidity, pH or total soluble solids did not vary in apple juice containing freeze-dried L. plantarum 49 cells up to 2 weeks of storage. This physicochemical stability is noteworthy and indicates that the juices containing the freeze-dried Lactobacillus cells remain similar to those newly manufactured even after two weeks of refrigerated storage. The strain was able to tolerate digestive stresses in in vitro tests apple juice and maintain counts > 6 log cfu/mL at the end of the in vitro digestion. These data indicate apple juice as the good substrate to maintain the viability of the tested freeze-dried Lactobacillus strains over time and presenting good performance for incorporation in potentially probiotic fruit juices