Effect of gums coating materials on the survival of microencapsulated probiotics under simulated gastrointestinal conditions

Abstract

Probiotic bacteria have been extensively merged into numerous dietary supplements and dairy commodities and have been sold as functional foods. Microencapsulation is one of those approaches used to increase probiotic survival and delivery. The aim of this work is to analyze the effect of three types of coating materials, xanthan, carrageenan and acacia gum on the viability of microencapsulated probiotics during simulated gastric fluid (SGF) and simulated intestinal fluid (SIF) exposure. The probiotics, Lactobacillus casei Shirota (LcS) were microencapsulated into uncoated alginate beads and were coated with 3 different concentrations of xanthan, carrageenan and acacia gums (0.1%, 0.3% and 0.5%). Free cells, uncoated and coated beads were subjected to SGF (1.5 h and 3 h) and SIF (24 h) and their viability was assessed after incubation period. Results denoted that glazed alginate beads with gums increased the viability of cells after cultivation in SGF and SIF. After SGF treatment, the viability of most of the coated beads was significantly higher compared to free cells. Among the three coating materials used in this study, xanthan gum coating provided the best cell protection in both treatments. Increasing concentration of gums had an optimistic outcome on the existence of LcS in GIT's replicated severe environments. However, microencapsulation of LcS with alginate does not significantly improve probiotic survivals under simulated gastrointestinal conditions.