Vol.:(0123456789)
1 3
Journal of Food Measurement and Characterization
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11694-018-9835-z
ORIGINAL PAPER
Microencapsulation of probiotics for incorporation in cream biscuits
Andleeb Muzzafar
1
· Vasudha Sharma
1
Received: 6 July 2017 / Accepted: 24 May 2018
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018
Abstract
Incorporation of probiotics into food products serves as a healthy option for delivery of probiotics. Microencapsulation
can increase the survival rate of the probiotic bacteria and act as effective mode of administration of the probiotics to the
recipients. The aim of this research was to develop a process technology for incorporating microencapsulated probiotics and
evaluate the viability of the encapsulated probiotics in biscuits. The microencapsulated probiotics were added in biscuits, to
a final concentration of 10 Log CFU/g. Viability above 8 Log CFU/g was found in probiotic biscuit after 8 weeks of storage.
This research indicated the feasibility of incorporation of probiotic bacteria into dry matrices in food products and further
determines viability of the probiotics during storage to assure probiotic functionality.
Keywords Probiotic products · Microencapsulation of probiotics · Lactobacilli · Bifidobacterium
Introduction
Within the functional foods movement is the small but rap-
idly expanding arena of probiotics—Probiotics are defined
as live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate
amounts, confer a health benefit to the host [1]. Probiotic
bacteria have been used both in pharmaceutical preparations
and in food products, giving the latter a functional attrib-
ute. Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB), especially Lactobacillus
spp., and Bifidobacterium spp. are the most commonly used
probiotic microorganisms. It is commonly accepted that the
incorporation of probiotics into a food product increases
its commercial value, as shown by recent market studies
which describe an increasing awareness and preference of
the general consumer for functional foods that incorporate
probiotics [2].
Probiotics are “friendly” bacteria found in the gut that
help us digest foods and fight harmful bacteria, improve
digestion and boost immunity. Foods that contain probiotics
have been appearing more and more on supermarket shelves.
Probiotic products have a worldwide importance due to the
ongoing trend of healthier food choices and to a high preva-
lence of lactose intolerance in many populations around the
world. Indeed technological advances have made possible to
alter some structural characteristics of fruit and vegetables
matrices by modifying food components in a controlled way
such as pH modification and fortification of culture media
among others [3]. Some examples of such modifications are
development of probiotic enriched dried fruits by vacuum
impregnation by Betoret et al.; Krasaekoopt and Suthanwong
where they combined the beneficial effects of probiotics with
fruits and vegetables [3, 4]. This could make them ideal
substrates for probiotics culture since they already contain
beneficial nutrients such as minerals, vitamins, dietary fibers
and antioxidants while lacking the dairy allergens that might
prevent consumption by certain segments of the population
[5].
Encapsulation is the process by which a bioactive
ingredient(s) is entrapped or coated with a wall material.
If the particle size formed by encapsulation is between 0.2
and 5000 µm then the process is referred to as microencap-
sulation [6]. The material to be coated or entrapped can be
a liquid, solid or gas, can be either living or non-living and
is referred to as the core material or active ingredient, such
as the probiotic. The material that forms the coat is referred
to as the wall material, membrane or coating. Wall materials
most commonly used for encapsulation of food ingredients
are hydrocolloids [7, 8]. Hydrocolloids from natural sources
are used in the food industry and include starch, maltodex-
trins, gum arabic, cellulosic’s, agar, gelatin, carrageenans,
alginates, low methoxy pectin, whey protein and gellan gum
* Vasudha Sharma
vasudhakatwal@gmail.com
1
Department of Food Technology, Jamia Hamdard [Deemed
to be University], New Delhi 110062, India
@Phil_Robichaud
@deepthiw
@JoseServera