Microencapsulation for Delivery of Probiotic Bacteria

In this era of modernization and hectic lifestyles, consumers demand functional foods providing nutrients with physiological and health benefits.

Probiotics belong to this in-demand category of functional and nutraceutical foods. Probiotics are selected viable microorganisms, administered in particular amounts, that provide numerous benefits. However, the viability of the microorganisms in harsh thermal processing, storage conditions, and the acid/bile conditions of the gastrointestinal tract is a major concern for the food industry.

Microencapsulation technology can provide suitable carriers for probiotics to improve their viability and targeted release. Probiotic encapsulation technology can protect probiotic microorganisms from the hostile conditions of the digestive system. Research is under way to design suitable coating materials and technology for microcapsule preparation. This chapter discusses methods of microencapsulation and improvements in probiotic delivery in the human system. Access the book chapter in the book Nanobiotechnology in Bioformulations        

Fluid Bed Technology for encapsulation of probiotics
The main advantages of this process are based on its level of heat exposure and comparatively low cost. The probiotic culture is encapsulated in a supporting material (such as skim milk, alginate, and fat) before drying. Sometimes shellac—a purified product from the insect Kerria lacca (Coccoidea)—is also used as a coating material for the capsules because it provides effective resistance against gastric fluid and is of natural origin (Nedovic et al. 2011).

However, because it has low solubility in intestinal fluid, it is less often used as an enteric coating, especially for coatings on hydrophobic substances. Polyvinylpyrrolidone, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, and sodium alginate have been used by researchers for enteric coating with addition of the water-soluble polymer glyceryl triacetate and glycerol as a plasticizer (Guignon et al. 2002). Probiocap and Duaolac have been used by some companies to develop products and are used in multilayer coatings (Solanki et al. 2013).

CELLETS as a carier for microencapsulation processes