Do probiotics need to be microencapsulated?

Clearly, microencapsulation plays an important role in protecting probiotic bacteria from the degradation that our digestive system was designed to do. It ensures they can stay viable through to the colon and, most importantly, benefit our health the way they are intended.

What is the difference between Lactobacillus and probiotics?

Lactobacillus species are probiotics (“good” bacteria) normally found in human digestive and urinary tracts. They can be consumed for diarrhea and “gut health.” “Good” bacteria such as Lactobacillus can help the body break down food, absorb nutrients, and fight off “bad” organisms that might cause diseases.

Is microencapsulation the future of probiotic preparations?

It’s well known, in fact, that microencapsulation of probiotics with specific materials is able to confer a significant resistance to gastric juice, thus protecting the cells during the gastric and duodenal transit and enhancing the probiotic efficacy of any supplementation.

What is microencapsulation used for?

Microencapsulation is used to reduce adverse aromas, volatility, and reactivity of food products and to provide food products with greater stability when exposed to adverse conditions (e.g., light, O2, and pH) [5, 6].

What is microencapsulation probiotic?

Microencapsulation is a process in which the probiotic cells are incorporated into an encapsulating matrix or membrane that can protect the cells from degradation by the damaging factors in the environment and release at controlled rates under particular conditions (Desai and Park 2005).

How are probiotics encapsulated?

Probiotics are currently encapsulated in polymer matrices for various applications. The physical retention of cells in the matrix and their subsequent separation is the consequence of the encapsulation technology used.

What is the function of Lactobacillus?

“Friendly” bacteria such as Lactobacillus can help us break down food, absorb nutrients, and fight off “unfriendly” organisms that might cause diseases such as diarrhea.

Which methods are used for microencapsulation?

Large number of techniques for microencapsulation include spray chilling, spray cooling, fluidized bed coating, liposome entrapment, extrusion, freeze drying, and coacervation.

Why are probiotics encapsulated?

Encapsulation tends to stabilize cells, potentially enhancing their viability and stability during production, storage and handling. An immobilized environment also confers additional protection to probiotic cells during rehydration.

How do you protect probiotics?

Microencapsulation has proven one of the most potent methods for maintaining high viability and stability of probiotic bacteria, as it protects probiotics both during food processing and storage as well as in gastric conditions.