Macroencapsulated Probiotic and Prebiotic Fortified Pineapple Yoghurt.

Abstract

Various studies have claimed that probiotic is correlated with improvement of intestinal health, enhancement of immune response, reduction of serum cholesterol, and prevention of cancer. These functions depend largely on their viability during exposure to low pH in human stomach. Therefore, in the current study, encapsulated probiotic and prebiotic fortified pineapple yoghurt was developed employing reverse spherification process. The effects of inulin (0, 1, and 2% w/v) and pineapple juice concentrations (5, 10, and 15% w/w) on physicochemical and sensory properties of yoghurt were studied. Based on the highest acceptability of yoghurt texture, 1% inulin and 5% pineapple juice was chosen for encapsulation study in the following step. CaCl2 (0 and 0.5% w/w) and alginate solution (0.7 and 1% w/w) were varied to study encapsulation process. Yoghurt with 0.75% alginate in the absence of CaCl2 had the highest swallowability and overall acceptability. Prior to in vitro digestion, encapsulation of the yoghurt gave a little protection effect on bacteria viability with approximately 3 log lactic acid bacteria reduction which was attributed to poor gel strength due to reverse spherification process.