Probiotics and Prebiotics

New Methods & New Equipments - Applications in Probiotic and Prebiotic Research

Prebiotics are food component that stimulate the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut, they are living bacteria that pass through the upper gastrointestinal tract and colonize the colon. Some studies showed that many commercial probiotic products are ineffective as they do not survive in the process of Food processing, storage and passage through the GIT. So, effective strategies are needed to improve the stability of probiotics in food and their passage through GIT.

Microencapsulation has been an effective approach that protects probiotics from degradation. Effective microencapsulation system maintains the stability of the probiotics during storage and protects them from unfavorable condition of GIT.

Microencapsulation technique include

• Simple microgels

• Core shell microgels

• Bioploymer complex microgels

• Gastric resistant microgels

• Nutrient doped microgels

Coating technologies can also use to improve the viability of probiotics in food products and GIT. In this probiotics are coated with a layer of material. Coating technologies are suitable for increasing mucoadhesion of probiotics. Strong mucoadhesion enables probiotics to adhere to the intestinal mucosa after their release in the colon.