Survival and stability of free and nanoencapsulated Lactobacillus casei under simulated gastrointestinal fluid and thermal conditions

Abstract

The main goal of this research was to see how nanoencapsulation affected the stability and vitality of the probiotic bacteria in a simulated gastrointestinal digesting and temperature environment. The mechanical encapsulation approach was used to encapsulate probiotics using sodium alginate and pullulan. Further, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to examine the interaction between the capsule matrix and probiotic bacteria in the created nanocapsules. Probiotic bacteria's survival and stability were tested in simulated gastrointestinal, intestinal, thermal, and refrigeration conditions. Nano encapsulation has a considerable impact on probiotic bacteria survival and stability. The viability of probiotic bacteria decreased at a similar rate across all treatments. In contrast, free probiotic cells were shown to have a quick -encapsulated bacteria have a lower reduction in total viable cells than free bacterial cells in an in vitro gastrointestinal assay, but the results of the viable count in the case of nano-encapsulated cells were also above the recommended level (106 CFU/gram) under the thermal and simulated GIT conditions.