Divya Eratte
Federation University Australia, Australia
Title: Evaluation of in vitro digestion of co-microencapsulated probiotic bacteria and omega-3 oil in whey protein isolate-gum arabic complex coacervates
Biography
Biography: Divya Eratte
Abstract
Co-microencapsulated omega-3 rich tuna oil (O) and probiotic bacteria L. casei (P) powder was produced using whey protein isolate (WPI)–gum Arabic (GA) complex coacervate wall matrix system. The release behavior of co-microencapsulated omega-3 oil and viability of co-microencapsulated probiotic bacteria were carried out to understand its applicability as a controlled release delivery system. The in vitro digestibility of co-microcapsules (WPI-P-O-GA) and microcapsules (WPI-P-GA and WPI-O-GA) on sequential exposure to simulated salivary fluid (SSF), simulated gastric fluid (SGF) and simulated intestinal fluid (SIF) were examined. Co-microencapsulation increased the survivability of L. casei during simulated digestion. Surface hydrophobicity of co-microencapsulated L. casei was greater than that of microencapsulated L. casei indicating greater intestinal adhesion. However, there was no significant difference in the assimilative reductions of cholesterol by microencapsulated and co-microencapsulated L. casei. There was no significant influence observed on the release properties of omega-3 oil due to co-microencapsulation. However, the total omega-3 fatty acids in the released oil during in vitro digestion were found to be higher, when co-microencapsulated. Hence, the co-microencapsulation could protect the L. casei in delivering the viable cells and omega-3 oil to human intestine without any significant adverse effect on their functionalities and properties.