Peanut Butter Matrix as a Potential Carrier for Co-Encapsulation of Probiotics and Bioactive Compounds

Cheng, Yun Xian (2023) Peanut Butter Matrix as a Potential Carrier for Co-Encapsulation of Probiotics and Bioactive Compounds. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology.

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Abstract

Probiotics-rich foods are increasingly being developed to offer health benefits and enhance consumer well-being. This study investigated whether peanut butter is a prospective food matrix for delivering probiotics and the effect of co-encapsulation on the probiotic viability. Bifidobacterium lactis was co-encapsulated with inulin and/or ascorbic acid by extrusion. Probiotics were added to peanut butter to study the survival of free and encapsulated probiotics under simulated gastrointestinal conditions, storage stability at room temperature for 14 days, pH, and lipid oxidation. Adding inulin to alginate capsules significantly improved encapsulation efficiency (91.72  0.94 %) and resulted in higher survival in simulated gastrointestinal digestion (65.18  4.13 %). Encapsulation improved the survival of B. lactis (49.95  1.77 % - 65.18  4.13 %) exposed to simulated gastric juice (SGJ) and intestinal juice (SIJ) compared to free probiotic cells (28.64  3.46 %). Results indicated that peanut butter matrix significantly improved (p < 0.05) the survival of both free (45.66  0.48 %) and encapsulated cells (67.95  0.71- 81.49  2.65 %) during passage through the gastrointestinal tract. Concerning storage stability, peanut butter supplemented with inulin-containing capsules achieved the highest probiotic viability, with an increase of 0.48  0.07 log cfu/g after 14 days of storage at room temperature, while the other samples showed viability loss (0.15  0.001 - 1.34  0.12 log cfu/g). The addition of probiotics either in the free or encapsulated forms did not significantly (p > 0.05) change the pH and peroxide value of peanut butter after 14 days storage at room temperature. These results suggest that co-encapsulation with inulin is a promising approach to protect and enhance the probiotic survival efficacy during food storage and in gastrointestinal conditions. Peanut butter matrix has the potential to be used as a stable carrier for B. lactis with optimum probiotic survival under simulated gastrointestinal conditions. Keywords: Bifidobacterium lactis; Peanut butter matrix; Co-encapsulation; Inulin; Ascorbic acid