The survivability comparison of microencapsulated Lactobacillus plantarum (S2G and A7) in different biopolymer matrices in simulated gastrointestinal tract during storage time

Increasing the survivability of probiotic bacteria that are exposed to the severe conditions of food and gastrointestinal tract, is always one of the concerns of scientists in the field of food and medicine. Hence, microencapsulation of probiotics has been proven as a novel technique for increasing probiotic tolerance in gastrointestinal simulation conditions. In this research, microencapsulation of Lactobacillus plantarum (A7 & S2G) with three different matrix materials (M1, M2, M3) was performed to increment the bacterial viability in simulated gastric fluid and porcine bile salt solution condition. Microencapsulation efficiency of Lactobacillus plantarum (A7 & S2G) in M1, M2 and M3 matrices was (98.72, 90.16 %), (95.29, 98.52 %) and (98.10, 93.07 %), respectively. Microcapsules were placed in simulated gastrointestinal condition for 10, 60, 120 min at 37 °C. Also, the survivability of microcapsulated probiotic bacteria was investigated at 4 and 25 °C during 8 weeks. The results of this study showed that the population reduction ratio of microencapsulated bacteria to free cells in matrices (M1, A7), (M2, A7), (M3, A7), (M1, S2G), (M2, S2G) and (M3, S2G) in simulated stomach condition was obtained 7:2, 7:1, 7:2, 6:2, 6:1 and 6:2 (Log of cfu/g), respectively. While, the result of survivability in simulated intestinal condition for (M1, A7), (M2, A7), (M3, A7), (M1, S2G), (M2, S2G) and (M3, S2G) was obtained as 6:2, 6:1, 6:2, 5:2, 5:1 and 5:2 (Log of cfu/g), respectively. Finally, there was a significant difference in the results of the monitoring of viable probiotic population during the shelf-life in different matrices at the examined temperatures.