Abstract
The core objective of the current study was to evaluate the effect of microencapsulation on the viability and stability of probiotic bacteria in yogurt and simulated gastrointestinal conditions. For this purpose, probiotic bacteria were encapsulated with sodium alginate and carrageenan by encapsulator. Yogurt was prepared with the incorporation of free and encapsulated probiotic bacteria and was analyzed for physicochemical, microbiological, and sensorial attributes. Encapsulation and storage exhibited a significant (p < .05) effect on different parameters of yogurt. An increasing trend in syneresis and acidity while a decreasing trend in viscosity, pH, viability, and stability were observed. The value of syneresis increased from 2.27 ± 0.17 to 2.9 ± 0.14 and acidity from 0.48 ± 0.04 to 0.64 ± 0.01 during 4 weeks of storage. The value of viscosity decreased from 3.68 ± 0.21 to 2.42 ± 0.09 and pH from 4.88 ± 0.31to 4.43 ± 0.36 during 28 days of storage. Unencapsulated (free) cells exhibited poor survival. The viable cell count of probiotic bacteria in the free‐state in yogurt was 9.97 logs CFU/ml at zero‐day that decreased to 6.12 log CFU/ml after 28 days. However, encapsulation improved the viability of the probiotics in the prepared yogurt and GIT. The cell count of probiotics encapsulated with sodium alginate and carrageenan was 9.91 logs CFU/ml and 9.89 logs CFU/ml, respectively, at zero‐day that decreased to 8.74 logs CFU/ml and 8.39 log CFU/ml, respectively. Free cells (unencapsulated) showed very poor survival. Similarly, during in vitro gastrointestinal assay, the survival rate of encapsulated probiotic bacteria in simulated gastric solution and intestinal solutions was higher than that of free cells. In the case of encapsulated bacteria, only 3 logs while for free cells, 7 log reduction was recorded. Sodium alginate microcapsules exhibited better release profile than carrageenan. Conclusively, microencapsulation improved the survival of probiotic bacteria in carrier food as well as in simulated gastrointestinal condition.
Highlights
The functional foods improve human health apart from the native nutritional value
It has been reported that coating with wall materials improves the survival and stability of probiotics in processing and in simulated gastrointestinal conditions (Iyer & Kailasapathy 2005)
The results are in accordance with Qi et al, (2019) who found 60% increased survival rate of probiotics under simulated gastrointestinal conditions compared to free cells (25%) and concluded that the encapsulation by using biopolymers offers an effective way to protect probiotics in adverse processing and in vitro conditions
Summary
The functional foods improve human health apart from the native nutritional value. There is a consistent rise in the demand for functional foods supplemented with probiotics. There is a high demand for the manufacturing of modern food products owing to their improved taste and health impacts (Fito et al, 2001; Yağcı & Göğüş, 2008). Dairy foods containing probiotic bacteria have been investigated extensively. Probiotics confer certain important health benefits when consumed as food components or supplements (Sanders & Marco, 2010). Probiotics refer to the wide range of microorganisms especially bacteria as well as yeast. Probiotics are found to be present in the wider range of food products especially in dairy products (Balthazar et al, 2018; Stella et al, 2005)
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