Hassan Gandomi - Department of Food Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

In the present study the effects of encapsulation with alginate and chitosan, with or without inulin, on viability of probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG in apple juice during ۹۰ days storage at ۴ and ۲۵ C were evaluated. The survival rate of free bacteria decreased to ۱۳.۶% through the storage. The encapsulated L. rhamnosus experienced greater survival rate which was ۴.۵ times higher than that of free bacteria at day ۹۰. Furthermore, inulin addition had a significant positive effect (p < ۰.۰۵) on survival of encapsulatedbacteria. The sensory scores showed that the probiotic encapsulation brought an improvement in all characteristics. The results of this research suggested the encapsulation of probiotic bacteria as an effective method to improve bacterial survival during apple juice storage without any adverse organoleptic effect.

Encapsulation; Probiotic; Inulin; Apple juice; Survival rate.