Survival and stability of free and encapsulated probiotic bacteria under simulated gastrointestinal and thermal conditions

Abstract

The core objective of the current study was to assess the effect of encapsulation on the viability and stability of probiotic bacteria under simulated gastrointestinal digestion and thermal conditions. Purposely, probiotics were encapsulated with hydrogel matrices (sodium alginate and carrageenan) using encapsulator. Furthermore, developed microbeads were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to elucidate the interaction between hydrogel matrices and probiotics. The viability of probiotics assessed by subjecting to simulated GIT and thermal conditions. Encapsulation exhibited a significant (p