Abstract
Aim
This study aimed to evaluate the protective effect of flaxseed mucilage on the co-extrusion microencapsulation of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG.
Methods
Core flow rate, chitosan coating, and flaxseed mucilage concentration were optimised for the microencapsulation of L. rhamnosus. The microbeads were characterised and evaluated on microencapsulation efficiency and cell released after 6 h of sequential digestion.
Results
The optimised parameters for the L. rhamnosus microencapsulation were 1.0 mL/min core flow rate, 0.4% (w/v) chitosan coating, and 0.4% (w/v) flaxseed mucilage. The L. rhamnosus microbeads with flaxseed mucilage in core and wall materials had a smooth surface with 781.3 µm diameter, the highest microencapsulation efficiency (98.8% w/w), lowest swelling (5196.7% w/w) and erosion ratio (515.5% w/w), and least cell release (<40% w/w) with 9.31 log10 CFU mL−1 after sequential digestion.
Conclusions
This study showed the protective capacity of flaxseed mucilage towards the L. rhamnosus GG during microencapsulation and gastrointestinal environment.
Disclosure statement
The authors report no conflict of interest.