Molecular and biopharmaceutical investigation of alginate–inulin synbiotic coencapsulation of probiotic to target the colon

Abstract

Colon targeting, as a site-specific delivery for oral formulation, remains a major challenge, especially for sensitive bioactive components such as therapeutic forms of phages, live attenuated virus and prebiotics-probiotics association. Synbiotics could be used to protect encapsulated probiotics during the gastrointestinal tract and control their release in the colon. To achieve these goals, effective prebiotics, such as inulin, could be combined with alginate - the most exploited polymer used for probiotic encapsulation - in the form of beads. This work aimed to study the biopharmaceutical behaviour of alginate beads (A) and inulin-alginate beads of different inulin concentrations (5 or 20%) in 2% alginate (AI5, AI20). Beads were loaded with three probiotic strains (Pediococcus acidilactici Ul5, Lactobacillus reuteri and Lactobacillus salivarius). Dissolution of beads was studied by USP4 under conditions simulating the gastrointestinal condition. The survival rates of the bacterial strains were measured by a specific qPCR bacterial count. Mucoadhesiveness of beads was studied by an ex vivo method using intestinal mucosa. To understand the behaviour of each formulation, the ultrastructure of the polymeric network was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Molecular interactions between alginate and inulin were studied by Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR). Dissolution results suggested that the presence of inulin in beads provided more protection for the tested bacterial strains against the acidic pH. AI5 was the most effective formulation to deliver probiotics to the colon simulation conditions. FTIR and SEM investigations explained the differences in behaviour of each formula. The developed symbiotic form provided a promising matrix for the development of colonic controlled release systems.

Probiotics in Food Systems: Significance and Emerging Strategies Towards Improved Viability and Delivery of Enhanced Beneficial Value

“…Alginate gels are stable at low pH values and can be swelled at higher pH values (as in intestinal environments) whereby release of the cells enhanced viability [270]. Atia et al, [271] studied an alginate-inulin synbiotic co-encapsulation of probiotic to target delivery in the colon as a site action. The results revealed that formulations containing inulin improved muco-adhesion properties of the probiotic beads, increasing also their protection from the acidic environment [271].…”

“…Atia et al, [271] studied an alginate-inulin synbiotic co-encapsulation of probiotic to target delivery in the colon as a site action. The results revealed that formulations containing inulin improved muco-adhesion properties of the probiotic beads, increasing also their protection from the acidic environment [271]. More recently synbiotic encapsulation of L. plantarum was also evaluated, using alginate-arabinoxylan composite microspheres, whereby encapsulation efficiency along with survival and storage stability were enhanced [268].…”

Optimal conditions for the encapsulation of Weissella cibaria JW15 using alginate and chicory root and evaluation of capsule stability in a simulated gastrointestinal system

“…The synbiotics concept, which combines the applications of probiotics and prebiotics, has emerged in the field of probiotic encapsulation (Abdelbasset et al, 2017;Sabikhi, Suthar, & Thompkinson, 2011). For example, oats and barley have been specifically used as prebiotics (Champagne & Kailasapathy, 2008).…”

“…Another study reported that the OH groups of inulin may inter-act with the COO − groups of alginate (Chawla & Patil, 2010). The presence of inulin in the network causes the destabilization of the egg-box structures through steric hindrance, which further weakens the polymeric networks and leads to degradation at pH 6.8 and total release of the bacteria (Abdelbasset et al, 2017). Inulin reduced the stiffness of the hydrogel (Bojana et al, 2016).…”

Influence of co-encapsulation of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis Bb12 with inulin and ascorbic acid on its viability

“…Co-encapsulation is an encapsulation process which uses a combination of two or more bioactive substances which can positively influence each other (Cham-pagne & Fustier 2007). Co-encapsulation of probiotics with prebiotics has been tested in order to protect their viability during the passage through GIT (Atia et al 2017). As the viability of probiotics is negatively influenced by a detrimental effect of oxygen, which damages the membrane lipids, antioxidants (ascorbic acid, l-cysteine and tocopherol) were also tested to prevent oxidative stress when added into an encapsulation matrix with probiotics (Chen et al 2017).…”