The Effect of Carboxymethyl Glucomannan Concentration on the Properties of Glucomannan-Chitosan Hydrogel for Lactobacillus acidophilus FNCC 0051 Encapsulation

Abstract

The effect of porang (Amorphophallus oncophyllus) glucomannan concentration on the properties of glucomannan-chitosan hydrogel was investigated for Lactobacillus acidophilus FNCC 0051 encapsulation. The spherical shape with a continuous surface of the particle was self-assembly formed. The increase of glucomannan concentration from 0.3 to 0.9 % smoothly increased their small particle size from 1.08 ± 0.02 µm to 2.12 ± 0.00 µm and no significant change on the positive zeta potential values. The polydispersity indexes with the value between 0.4 to 0.5 were categorized as uniform particles. However, these values were higher compared to other studies which used konjac glucomannan-chitosan as the hydrogel materials. The encapsulation study with Lactobacillus acidophilus FNCC 0051 showed that the highest value was achieved when the same ratio of glucomannan and chitosan was applied (0.5 %). The viability study proved the perfect protection of hydrogel during 56 days of cold storage and pasteurization treatment with the cell viabilities of 100 % and 58.13 ± 18.5 %, respectively.
 HIGHLIGHTS
 
 Glucomannan concentration influenced particle size and encapsulation efficiency of hydrogel
 Hydrogel was potential as acidophilus carrier in the gut due to its pH sensitivity
 Hydrogel had continuous surface to provide a stronger physical barrier for the acidophilus against harsh environment
 Hydrogel proved well protection of acidophilus during pasteurization and cold storage
 
 GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Hydrogel Derived from Glucomannan-Chitosan to Improve the Survival of Lactobacillus acidophilus FNCC 0051 in Simulated Gastrointestinal Fluid

“…The differences in the achieved encapsulation efficiencies might reflect the different encapsulant types and encapsulation methods used [ 12 ]. We previously showed that the same ratio of glucomannan and chitosan affected the encapsulation efficiency due to the chemical bonding of both polymers as well as due to the difference in electrostatic values between the core and the polymer influencing the degree of cell entrapment [ 8 ].…”

“…The particle size was also correlated with the encapsulation efficiency ( Table 1 ), as more cores could be trapped within larger hydrogel particles. The other factors found to influence the particle sizes were the concentration and viscosity of the solution [ 8 , 12 ].…”

“…Encapsulation Efciency. Te hydrogel was created by mixing porang glucomannan with chitosan using the complex coacervation method [8]. Te encapsulation of the probiotics in the hydrogel was performed using three different cell numbers, namely 8 log CFU/mL, 9 log CFU/mL, and 10 log CFU/mL.…”

“…A previous study used a hydrogel created by crosslinking konjac, glucomannan, and chitosan, which was found to have many advantages, including natural formation without the need for a crosslinker, self-assembly, tolerance to different pH levels, and demonstrable ability to encapsulate drugs, proteins, and enzymes [4,5]. A similar study involving hydrogels formed by means of the interaction between porang glucomannan and chitosan investigated the production of the primary carboxymethyl glucomannan material, the compatibility of the substitution degree of the carboxymethyl glucomannan involved in the hydrogel formation, the efect of the polymer concentration on the glucomannan properties, and the application in relation to probiotic encapsulation [6][7][8]. Te key innovation of the study was the use of porang, which has characteristics that difer from those of other glucomannan sources, such as the solubility, viscosity, water-holding capacity, degree of polymerization, degree of acetylation, purity, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern [1,2].…”

“…We previously studied the properties of the hydrogel produced in the different glucomannan concentration and evaluated its probiotic encapsulation efficiency, also its role in protecting cells during pasteurization and cold storage [ 8 ]. Encapsulation efficiency could not only be improved by varying the concentration of added polymer but also added core [ 11 ].…”