Encapsulation of Lactobacillus plantarum in cellulose based microgel with controlled release behavior and increased long-term storage stability

Probiotics are believed to provide benefits to human health; however, a good storage stability is the prerequisite for the probiotic products making function. Herein, we reported a pathway to fabricate the Ca-alginate/cryoprotectants/cellulose composite (ACFP) capsules to protect L. plantarum cells, which showed the minimal loss of viability during the vacuum freeze-drying process. The trehalose and whey protein isolate (WPI) ingredients in the cryoprotectants prolonged the dissolution time of Ca-alginate shell, which contributed to controlling the release of cells in the desired region. The dry ACFP capsules exhibited gradual release of L. plantarum cells in simulated intestinal fluid (SIF), 2.6 × 10⁶ cfu/mL at 210 min. In addition, 0.1 g of the dry ACFP capsules showed the viable release amount of 3.3 × 10⁶ cfu/mL after the storage of 160 days at 4 °C. The promising results provided a strategy of encapsulating probiotic cells to achieve long-term storage stability and enhanced controlled release behavior in simulated intestinal fluid in the meantime.