MICROENCAPSULATION OF PROBIOTICS USING KIWIFRUIT POLYSACCHARIDE AND ALGINATE CHITOSAN

This work investigated the delivery of a symbiotic combination of prebiotic kiwifruit polysaccharide with probiotic bacteria. The source of polysaccharide (mucilage) was Actinidia arguta fruit. This mucilage was combined with a probiotic bacterium, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and then encapsulated in alginate and chitosan. The system was evaluated in vitro in terms of its efficacy in maintaining viability of the lactobacilli after encapsulation. It was found that the mucilage encapsulated bacteria cell did not survive the low pH environment. Bacterial cells encapsulated in alginate showed enhanced viability. Alginate or a combination of alginate and chitosan could be used to increase survival of probiotic bacteria during their transit through the gastrointestinal tract and to deliver the prebiotic synergy of kiwifruit polysaccharide with probiotics.