Role of Cryoprotectants on the Viability and Functional Properties of Probiotic Lactic Acid Bacteria during Freeze Drying

Abstract Effect of different cryoprotectants on acid/bile tolerance, β-galactosidase activity, and cholesterol assimilation properties of freeze dried Pediococcus acidilactici, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Lactobacillus salivarius were evaluated. The retention of probiotic properties and viability of the above three cultures freeze dried with lactose, skimmed milk, and maltodextrin were found to be significant (P ≤ 0.05). In another approach, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were subjected to cold shock first and then freeze dried. Effect of cold shock treatment on retention of probiotic properties of freeze dried LAB cultures was also investigated. The cold shock treatment resulted in an increase of 6–8%, both in viability and probiotic properties, compared with LAB freeze dried without cold shock treatment. The survival of freeze dried L. plantarum, L. salivarius, and P. acidilactici was investigated over a period of 60 d storage at 4°C. The above three cultures freeze dried with maltodextrin exhibited 83%, 68%, and 60% retention in survival percentage, respectively, in comparison with initial values. Key Words: cold shock treatmentfreeze dryinglactic acid bacteria (LAB) Lactobacillus plantarum Pediococcus acidilactici probiotics ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors are thankful to Life-Science Research Board, DRDO, India, for funding the project. Praveen Kumar Reddy is thankful to CSIR for the award of senior research fellowship. The authors thank the director of CFTRI for supporting the work.