Prebiotic effects of Spirulina platensis on the survival of probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus casei in the encapsulation process in sour cherry juice

The aim of this study was to investigate the prebiotic effects of Spirulina platensis on the survival of two species of probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus casei in the process of encapsulation in sour cherry juice. For this purpose, two types of probiotics were prepared in stock. The encapsulation process was performed using spray drying method and production of calcium-linked cross-linked alginate capsules. The viability of the probiotics was measured in encapsulated with and without Spirulina at 28-day storage at 4 °C. Survival rates were also measured at 60, 70 and 80 °C at 0, 1, 2.5, 5 and 10 minutes. In addition, simulations of gastric and intestinal juice environment were performed for two bacterial species in different states of encapsulation. The results showed that bacteria encapsulated with Spirulina had the highest survival and temperature resistance. Also, the highest efficiency of encapsulated probiotics in the presence of Spirulina was 81.9 and 83% for L. acidophilus and L. casei, respectively. In addition, Spirulina-encapsulated probiotic bacteria showed greater resistance than other bacterial forms in gastric and intestinal juice conditions. In summary, the results of this study showed that capsules containing Spirulina and Lactobacillus casei had higher survival and heat resistance than capsules containing Lactobacillus acidophilus and Spirulina. Also, the results of bacterial resistance test in the conditions of simulating gastric and intestinal juice showed that encapsulated bacteria showed more resistance in the presence of Spirulina compared to the free form, which ultimately increases the efficiency and health of food products and humans.