Study and Understanding Behavior of Alginate-Inulin Synbiotics Beads for Protection and Delivery of Antimicrobial-Producing Probiotics in Colonic Simulated Conditions

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), using antibiotics as growth promoters for livestock-particularly swine-is the principal cause of antibiotic resistance. It is therefore clear that finding an alternative to antibiotics becomes an emergency. Hundreds of recent studies have appointed probiotics as potential candidates to replace or to be used in combination with antibiotics. However, bringing probiotics alive to the colon-their site of action-remains a big challenge because of different physiological barriers encountered in proximal gastrointestinal tract (GIT) such as acidic pH and bile salts that may affect the viability of probiotic cultures. To overcome this problem, in previous studies, we developed and characterize a synbiotic formula consisting of beads of a mixture of alginate and inulin. Three potential probiotics strains namely Pediococcus acidilactici UL5 (UL5), Lactobacillus reuteri (LR), and Lactobacillus salivarius (LS) were encapsulated to study their release and the behavior of this synbiotic formula throughout the GIT using in vitro models. The survival and the release of bacteria from beads were studied by specific PMA-qPCR counting. The microscopic aspects of the beads were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Moreover, the microbial dynamics inside beads were studied by fluorescence microscopy using the live/dead test. Our results have shown that the beads containing 5% inulin were the most stable in the stomach and throughout the small intestine. However, beads were completely degraded in approximately 3 h of incubation in the fermented medium that mimic the colon. These results were confirmed by SEM and fluorescence microscopy images. Therefore, it can be stated that the AI5 formulation well protected the bacteria in the upper part of the digestive tract and allowed their controlled release in the colon.

Survival and storage stability of encapsulated probiotic under simulated digestion conditions and on dried apple snacks

“…The encapsulated probiotic with both sodium alginate and K‐carrageenan showed a significant effect ( p < .05) on the viability of the cells. The results of the present study are also in accordance with several authors (Atia et al., 2017; Shi et al., 2013) who demonstrated that use of polymer for encapsulation of probiotics protects and maintain the desired viability of probiotics under acidic environment. The encapsulation of the cells with hydrogel materials improves the viability and stability in high pH medium.…”

“…The encapsulated probiotic with both sodium alginate and K-carrageenan showed a significant effect (p < .05) on the viability of the cells. The results of the present study are also in accordance with several authors (Atia et al, 2017;Shi et al, 2013)…”

Impact of oral galenic formulations of Lactobacillus salivarius on probiotic survival and interactions with microbiota in human in vitro gut models

“…In order to increase probiotic survival during transit through the human stomach, various gastro-resistant formulations have been developed for Lactobacillus spp. strains, using various matrices mainly based on alginate (Atia et al, 2018;Cheow et al, 2014;Ding and Shah, 2009;Villena et al, 2015) and ovalbumin (Govender et al, 2015). In the present study, we showed for the first time that HPMC capsule effectively protected the L. salivarius strain tested against acid pH as no bacteria was released in the TIM stomach and subsequent survival was improved in the distal parts of the small intestine.…”

Co-Encapsulated Synbiotics and Immobilized Probiotics in Human Health and Gut Microbiota Modulation

“…Recently, numerous studies have shown that incorporation of prebiotics like inulin, hi-maize, trehalose, resistant starch, etc. into the encapsulation wall material increases its resistance and the preserved viability of probiotics in extreme environments of the GI tract [127][128][129]. Selecting the right co-encapsulation technology is therefore important.…”

“…Xavier et al [202] confirmed that 10% inulin is a suitable coating agent to protect microencapsulated L. acidophilus La-5 during the spray-drying process and sGIC. Atia et al [128] studied the effect of inulin addition to alginate microcapsules and reported its ability to protect probiotic strains Pediocuccus acidilactici UL5, L. reuteri, and L. salivarius. Microcapsules with different inulin concentrations of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% (w/v) in 2% (w/v) alginate solution were prepared, and the most effective was the alginate matrix with 5% inulin.…”