Effect of Sodium Alginate-Bulk Chitosan/Chitosan Nanoparticle Wall Matrix on the Viability of Lactobacillus plantarum Under Simulated Gastrointestinal Fluids

The viability of probiotic cells decreases during passage through the gastrointestinal tract. The process of probiotics encapsulation with sodium alginate and chitosan polymers was carried out to protect the Lactobacillus plantarum in adverse conditions. Lactobacillus plantarum was entrapped in sodium alginate/chitosan (SA/BChi) and sodium alginate/nano-chitosan (SA/NChi) wall materials. Encapsulating L. plantarum with SA/BChi and SA/NChi resulted in a high encapsulation efficiency % of ~ 86.41 to 91.09%. In addition, coating bacteria cells in encapsulants improved the survivability of the cells under the simulated gastrointestinal fluids by ~ 52.61% in SA/Chi and 58.04% in SA/NChi compared to 29% for unencapsulated forms. Probiotic beads under field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) were morphologically compact with a cracked appearance of SA/NChi beads. The Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed vigorous electrostatic interaction between polymers, as well as the high melting points, which corroborate the previous investigations in the field for using SA/BChi or SA/NChi as a promising encapsulating agent for ameliorating the survivability of probiotics under harsh conditions. The distinctive properties possessed by the two coatings make them excellent candidates for use as polymeric carriers in probiotic delivery systems.