Effects of blueberry extract co-microencapsulation on the survival of Lactobacillus rhamnosus

Abstract

Probiotics are used as dietary supplements with beneficial health effects mainly due to modulating the human intestinal microbiota, although they must withstand adverse environmental conditions and arrive at the target site in sufficient quantities. Co-microencapsulating alternative compounds such as those extracted from blueberries, besides enriching the phytochemical microcapsules, protect the probiotic cells of Lactobacillus rhamnosus. The microcapsules were produced by spray drying using the concentrations of 0% (control; Microencapsulated-0%), 10% (Microencapsulated-10%), 50% (Microencapsulated-50%), and 100% (Microencapsulated-100%) of blueberry extract in relation to the total volume (100 mL). The L. rhamnosus release profile of the microcapsules after exposure to the simulated gastrointestinal system increased at 100% concentration with intestinal counts of 6.97 log CFU/g, while the lowest survival rate was observed using ME-50%. The microcapsules also showed improved thermal resistance compared to free cells, and the ones with 100% extract (ME-100%) had better protective effects. In addition, co-microencapsulation increased the storage stability of probiotics with stability of up to 14 days at −18 °C. In short, this study demonstrates that the co-microencapsulation of the blueberry extract provided positive effects on L. rhamnosus survival and demonstrates its promising application in food.