Complex Coacervation as a Novel Microencapsulation Technique to Improve Viability of Probiotics Under Different Stresses

A physicochemical approach has been undertaken to develop polymeric microcapsules for delivering probiotic bacteria with improved viability in functional food products. Two probiotic strains of Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei (E6) and Lactobacillus paraplantarum (B1), isolated from traditional Greek dairy products, were microencapsulated by complex coacervation using whey protein isolate (WPI, 3 % w/v) and gum arabic (GA, 3 % w/v) solutions mixed at 2:1 weight ratio. The viability of the bacterial cells during processing (heat treatment and high salt concentrations), under simulated gut conditions (low pH and high bile concentrations) and upon storage, was evaluated. Entrapment of lactobacilli in the complex coacervate structure enhanced the viability of the microorganisms when exposed to a low pH environment (pH 2.0). Both encapsulated strains retained high viability in simulated gastric juice (>73 %; log scale), especially in comparison with non-encapsulated (free) cells (<19 %). Moreover, after 60 days of refrigerated storage at pH 4.0, the viability of microencapsulated cells was more than 86 %, implying improved protection in comparison with the free cells (<59 %). Complex coacervation with WPI/GA has the potential to deliver live probiotics in low pH foods or fermented products; it is also important to note that the complexes can dissolve at pH 7.0 (gut environment) releasing the microbial cells (desired feature of target delivery systems).