Effect of Red Palm Olein Oil Ratio on Bifidobacterium Lactis Encapsulation

Low, Sok Huan (2026) Effect of Red Palm Olein Oil Ratio on Bifidobacterium Lactis Encapsulation. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology.

Text Low Sok Huan_Full Text.pdf Restricted to Registered users only Download (4MB)

Abstract

The health benefits of probiotics are often compromised by their low viability when passing through the harsh gastrointestinal tract. Hence, microencapsulation is performed to form a physical barrier to enhance probiotic stability. This study evaluates the protective effect of sodium alginate (SA) capsules incorporating red palm olein oil (RPO) at various concentrations to investigate the encapsulation efficiency (EE) and gastrointestinal survival of Bifidobacterium lactis (B. lactis). B.lactis was encapsulated with 1.8% (v/v) SA alone or in combination with RPO at 10%, 20%, and 40% (v/v). Both free cells and encapsulated formulations were tested for encapsulation efficiency and subsequently evaluated for the survival rates of B. lactis using simulated gastric juice (SGJ) and simulated intestinal juice (SIJ) digestion. 40% (v/v) red palm olein oil (RPO) incorporated into alginate capsules showed the highest encapsulation efficiency at 94.64±2.40%. Microencapsulation significantly improved the tolerance of B. lactis compared to free cells throughout the gastrointestinal tract as free cells recorded the decrease in the survival rate from 54.43 ± 0.49% in SIJ to 26.98 ± 0.04% after exposure to SIJ. Among encapsulated groups, 40% (v/v) RPO showed the best improved survival rates after exposure to SIJ, increasing from 43.39 ± 0.09% in simulated gastric juice (SGJ) to 54.07 ± 0.06% in simulated intestinal juice (SIJ). In conclusion, incorporation into alginate capsules with 40% (v/v) RPO provides the most effective strategy with high encapsulation efficiency and significantly enhances the survival rate of B. lactis under simulated gastrointestinal conditions. This approach shows considerable promise for applications in functional food development