Microencapsulation by a Spray Drying Approach to Produce Innovative Probiotics-Based Products Extending the Shelf-Life in Non-Refrigerated Conditions

Abstract

Recently, there has been a growing interest in producing functional foods containing encapsulated probiotic bacteria due to their positive effects on human health. According to their perceived health benefits, probiotics have been incorporated into a range of dairy products, but the current major challenge is to market new, multicomponent probiotic foods and supplements. Nevertheless, only a few products containing encapsulated probiotic cells can be found as non-refrigerated products. In this work, spray drying technology was investigated in order to produce an innovative nutraceutical formulation based on lactic acid bacteria (LAB), and was able to ensure a good storage stability of probiotics (no less than 109 CFU/cps) in non-refrigerated conditions. Probiotic-loaded microparticles from spray drying experiments were produced under different conditions and compared by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the enumeration of the number of viable cells in order to identify the formulation exhibiting the most promising characteristics. Results from the dissolution test revealed that the optimized formulation provides a suitable amount of living cells after digestion of microparticles stored for 12 months at room temperature and confirmed that the microencapsulation process by spray drying ensures a good protection of probiotics for nutraceutical purposes.

Next-Generation Probiotics as Novel Therapeutics for Improving Human Health: Current Trends and Future Perspectives

“…This involves making changes through modifications of the food matrix and engineering techniques during the manufacturing process [ 50 ]. The encapsulation of probiotics formulations can protect these probiotic live microorganisms, enhance their stability, and provide advantages of targeted delivery [ 51 , 52 ]. To optimize probiotic encapsulation methods, microbial stability, functionality, safety, efficacy, and targeting ability must be determined both before and after the encapsulation process [ 53 ].…”

“…The selection of the coating agent depends on its functionality, film-forming ability, stability, solubility, digestibility, and releasing properties [ 60 ]. To achieve the desired properties, a combination of wall materials or the addition of emulsifiers/filling agents can be used [ 51 ]. The most prevalent encapsulation methods for probiotics primarily prioritize their survival rather than preserving their function or distinctive characteristics.…”

Improved Viability of Probiotics via Microencapsulation in Whey-Protein-Isolate-Octenyl-Succinic-Anhydride-Starch-Complex Coacervates

“…Probiotics are living microorganisms that can provide a lot of benefits to the health of a host when properly ingested [1,2]. Many probiotics, including Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus and others, have been widely used in functional foods, beverages and so on [1,3]. However, the instability of probiotics during food processing, human gastrointestinal digestion, longterm storage and more is still a great challenge [4,5].…”