Encapsulation of probiotics in solid lipid micro particle for improved viability and stability under stressed conditions

Probiotics possess many health-endorsing properties; however, their viability and stability under detrimental condition is uncertain. Encapsulation technology provides protection under various stressed conditions. Furthermore, combination of different wall materials ensures the target delivery of core materials. In the current study, probiotic was encapsulated using solid lipid micro particles (SLMP) that were prepared by high shear homogenization. Whey protein and gum Arabic were used as wall material to encapsulate the probiotics. Obtained micro beads were subjected for size, zeta potential, and encapsulation efficiency measurement. Scanning electron microscopy was used for morphological characterization of the microbeads. Molecular characterization of obtained micro beads was done by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Furthermore, the viability and stability were assessed under simulated gastrointestinal conditions. Free and encapsulated probiotics were incorporated in chocolate to evaluate the stability of probiotics. The results in this study indicated that encapsulated probiotics showed significant (P < .05) viability under simulated gastrointestinal and technological conditions compared to free probiotics. A log reduction of 3.54 CFU/mL and 2.52 CFU/mL was detected for SLMW and SLMG after 120 min under simulated gastric condition while 2.42 CFU/mL log reduction and 4.13 log CFU/mL log reduction was detected under intestinal conditions. Likewise, chocolate containing encapsulated probiotics showed better viability at 4°C after 30 days of storage duration and showed significant (p < .05) results. A log reduction of 1.08 log CFU/g was observed in chocolate with Gum Arabic in SLMP as and encapsulating material. In conclusion, solid lipid particles have a strong potential to extend the viability of probiotics under detrimental circumstances.