effect of alginate and chitosan concentrations on some properties of chitosan‐coated alginate beads and survivability of encapsulated Lactobacillus rhamnosus in simulated gastrointestinal conditions and during heat processing

BACKGROUND: In this study, chitosan‐coated alginate beads were produced with different concentrations of chitosan and alginate to evaluate the survival of encapsulated Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG during exposure to adverse conditions in gastrointestinal simulated juice and heat processing. RESULTS: The encapsulation yield of different encapsulation treatments was between 25 and 53.2%. Although there was a drastic decrease in pH within 48 h of incubation in MRS medium inoculated with free and encapsulated bacteria, no significant changes (P > 0.05) in bacterial count were observed among different encapsulation treatments. Moreover, the survival rate after gastrointestinal juice exposure of all prepared beads was 10–87 times greater than that of free cells and was significantly enhanced by increasing chitosan and alginate concentrations. The encapsulated bacteria survived significantly (P < 0.05) better than the free cells during heat exposure at 55, 60 and 65 °C: free cells experienced about 5 log cycles reduction after heat treatment at 65 °C for 30 min, whereas 40 g L⁻¹ alginate/10 g L⁻¹ chitosan‐encapsulated L. rhamnosus was reduced by only 2.55 log cycles. CONCLUSION: Encapsulation effectively protected L. rhamnosus against heat treatment and gastrointestinal conditions, and this effect is important in delivering sufficient numbers of viable probiotic bacteria to the gastrointestinal tract. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry