ENHANCEMENT OF PROBIOTIC VIABILITY IN ICE CREAM BY MICROENCAPSULATION

Abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the survivability of two proven probiotic strains viz., Lactobacillus acidophilus (LA-5) and Lactobacillus casei (NCDC-298) in ice cream using microencapsulation technique. Four types of probiotic ice cream containing free and microencapsulated L. acidophilus (LA-5) and Lactobacillus casei (NCDC-298), were manufactured. The survival of L. acidophilus (LA-5) and Lactobacillus casei (NCDC-298) were monitored during the storage period of 180 days at _ 23 C. The viable cell count of L. acidophilus (LA-5) and Lactobacillus casei (NCDC-298) in the free state in prepared ice cream mixture was 5.1 ± 0.2 ×10 9 cfu / ml and 4.3 ± 0.2 × 10 9 cfu / ml at day one and the numbers were decreased to 4.1 ± 0.3 × 10 6 and 1.9 ± 0.2 × 10 7 cfu / ml after 180 days of storage at _ 23 °C respectively. After encapsulation of the two probiotic bacteria along with calcium alginate and whey protein concentrate beads, the probiotic survival rate raised at of 30 per cent during the same period of storage. The present study envisaged that microencapsulation can significantly increase the survival rate of probiotic bacteria in ice cream over an extended period of shelf-life. Further the addition of microencapsulated probiotics in ice cream had no significant effect on the sensory properties