Effect of the honey from Agave tequilana Weber and dextran on the viability of Lactobacillus plantarum 299v encapsulated by spray drying

Abstract

Encapsulation technologies are used to keep probiotic cell viable throughout storage, commercialization as well as in food products manufacturing, so that these cells are active during their passage through the gastrointestinal tract. In this study, the honey from Agave tequilana Weber and dextran were used as a coating material to improve encapsulation of Lactobacillus plantarum 299v. The survival during 14 days at 5 °C storage and an in vitro model that reproduces the conditions in the stomach and small intestine (37 °C, pH 2 and 0.5 % of bile salts) were developed to monitor the viability of encapsulated bacteria. The survival during the storage of the encapsulated of L. plantarum with Agave honey and dextran were not significantly different (p>0.05). The viability L. plantarum, which was encapsulated with dextran and Agave honey was higher than that showed by free cells (15%). The results of this preliminary study showed the effectiveness of Agave tequilana Weber honey and dextran to encapsulate L. plantarum 299v, allowing the study of strains most sensitive to the encapsulation conditions.