Co-microencapsulation of Lactobacillus paracasei and Inonotus obliquus polysaccharide in alginate system: Physicochemical and functional properties

Abstract

In this study, sodium alginate (SA) was used as shell material, and Lactobacillus paracasei JY062/Inonotus obliquus polysaccharide (IOP) were used as core material (JY062-IOP/SA). The microcapsules were prepared by polymer gel technology and analyzed by SEM, FTIR, TGA and XRD. The results exhibited that the embedding rate of JY062-IOP/SA microcapsules increased to 89.21 % compared with JY062/SA control group (84.22 %). JY062-IOP/SA microcapsules have better mechanical properties and dense structure, and the distribution of L. paracasei JY062 was more uniform. JY062-IOP/SA microcapsules have higher survival and release rates in a simulated bile salt and gastrointestinal environment, and presented better preservation stability during storage. The intervention mechanism of JY062-IOP/SA microcapsule on lipid metabolism disorder in mice was further elucidated through in vivo experiments. The results presented that the relative abundance of harmful/beneficial microorganisms in the gut of JY092-IOP/SA microcapsule group was significantly reduced. Meanwhile, the number of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes decreased and the content of short-chain fatty acids increased significantly in the intestine of mice, indicating that the intestinal flora was further balanced. At present, there are no studies on the co-embedding of IOP and probiotics in biological substrates. This is not only a protective system, but also a synergistic system that can simultaneously deliver these two bioactive compounds with health benefits to the gastrointestinal tract in a cost-effective manner. The aim of this study was to construct an efficient probiotic delivery system to enhance the synergistic health effects of probiotics and IOP through co-encapsulation strategies.