Microencapsulation of Fish Oil Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum by Coacervation

In the present study, Micro-capsulated fish oil omega-3 fatty acids and Lactobacillus Plantarum produced by electrostatic interaction coacervation was investigated in three biopolymer formulations.

Three biopolymer formulations of fish gelatin-gum Arabic, fish gelatin–chitosan, and gum Arabic-gelatin were used to study the effect of wall materials. Also, we investigated the effect of wall-to-core materials ratio at 2: 1, 3: 1, and 4: 1 and homogenizer speeds of 3500 and 7000 rpm.

The results of the microencapsulation efficiency of omega-3 fatty acids showed that treatment 12 had the highest yield (96.26 ± 0.19). It contained a biopolymer mixture containing gelatin-chitosan which surrounded a high percentage of omega-3, while the amount of omega-3 on the surface of the capsule was very low. Also, treatment 6 containing gelatin wall materials and gum Arabic had a high ability to surround bacteria and compared to free bacteria, the bacterial mortality rate was lower when exposed to simulated gastric conditions. In addition, after being in the simulated intestinal condition, the number of bacteria increased after 120 minutes that shows the capsule has released its compounds in alkaline conditions of the intestine.

This study showed that using the combined coacervation technique using fish gelatin biopolymers, chitosan, and gum Arabic as wall materials, can produce omega-3 capsules and Lactobacillus Plantarum in micrometer sizes. They can play a protective role in preventing the oxidation of probiotic and omega-3 bacteria.