Improving Probiotic Viability: The Effect of Alyssum homolocarpum gum as an Encapsulation Material

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
Akram Sadat Tabatabaee Bafroee 1
Negar Heydari 2
Elahe Nazari 2
Saeedeh Shojaee-Aliabadi 3
1 Department of Biology, ET.C, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.
2 Department of Nutrition, Electronic Health and Statistics Surveillance Research Center, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.
3 Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.
Abstract
As a practical approach, spray-drying microencapsulation is employed to protect probiotic cultures from intense thermal treatments and physiological stresses in the gut. Nonetheless, ensuring the survival of Lactobacillus acidophilus La-5 remains a significant concern when subjected to industrial-scale drying at high inlet temperatures (140–150°C). This study investigated the protective effects of Alyssum homolocarpum seed (AHS) gum, combined with two wall systems: low methoxyl pectin/β-glucan and sodium alginate/maltodextrin. Fabrication of the microcapsules involved a spray-dryer operating with a feed-in temperature of 140–150°C, while the discharge air was maintained at 80–85°C. The findings indicated that AHS gum significantly boosted both encapsulation efficiency (EE %) and the resilience of probiotic cells. Specifically, the survival rate of these microencapsulated strains improved from 68.4% up to 82.6% when exposed to thermal stress (55–75 °C) for periods of 1 to 10 minutes. Furthermore, SEM images revealed that the addition of AHS gum resulted in smoother microcapsule surfaces with reduced porosity (mean diameter: 18.5–22.3 μm). Under simulated gastrointestinal conditions, the LMP/β-glucan/AHS formulation retained 79.8% viability after 120 min in SIF, significantly higher than the control (28.0%). These findings confirm that AHS gum acts as an effective co-wall material, enhancing both the physical stability and probiotic resilience during processing and storage

 

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Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 16 May 2026