PECTIN-BASED MICROENCAPSULATION OF PROBIOTICS FOR IMPROVING SURVIVAL IN GASTRO-INTESTINAL TRACT
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Date
2023
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Abstract
The probiotic organisms exert various health benefits. The viability of probiotics is reduced while passing through the stomach and upper intestine because of the low pH. In this study, pectin was extracted from lemon peels and pumpkin, and microcapsules were made by encapsulation of probiotic microorganism species Lactobacillus plantarum, L. delbrueckii and Pediococcus. pentosaceous with plant-based pectin through emulsification. The degree of esterification was highest in lemon pectin (66.10%) with the highest encapsulated bead yield of 13.08g/g pectin. The initial probiotic cell count of L. plantarum, L. delbrueckii and
P. pentosaceous was 9.54, 9.61 and 9.51 log cfu/ml respectively. The microcapsules of L. delbrueckii gave the highest viability attributed to its higher tolerance to acid. The microcapsules of L. plantarum, L. delbrueckii and P. pentosaceous achieved encapsulation yields of 84%, 86% and 83% from lemon pectin and, 81%, 83% and 83% from pumpkin pectin respectively. However, results of simultaneous incubation in simulated gastric and intestinal fluid revealed a slight reduction in the viability of encapsulated cells remaining within 5 log cfu/ml. The microencapsulated beads were observed under the inverted microscope to detect the presence of bacteria after gram staining which showed gram- positive cells. No difference was detected in the bead appearance by environmental scanning electron microscopy, except that the pectin beads made from lemon peel pectin resulted in lesser severe wrinkles on the surface. The overall study indicated that the most stable microcapsules were made from lemon peel pectin with the potential for industrial application.