2. Nondairy food matrices as a carrier of microencapsulated probiotic microorganisms microencapsulated

The word probiotic comes from the Greek word "προ-βίος" that means "for life"; thus, probiotics are live microorganisms (mainly bacteria but also yeasts) that confer a beneficial effect on the host if administered in proper amounts [16].

The most common probiotic microorganisms used commercially in food are bacteria from the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium [17]. Lactobacillus species used as probiotics in food include L. acidophilus, L. crispatus, L. amylovorus, L. gallinarum, L. gasseri, L. johnsonii, L. helveticus, L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, L. salivarius subsp. salivarius, L. casei, L. paracasei subsp. paracasei, L. paracasei subsp. tolerans, L. plantarum, L. rhamnosus, L. fermentum, and L. reuteri [18].

Probiotics are widely used in commercial functional products of animal origin, mainly fermented milk, such as yogurt and cheeses; however, the use of milk-based products may be limited by allergies, cholesterol diseases, dyslipidemia, and vegetarianism, and therefore, several raw materials have been extensively investigated to determine if they are suitable substrates to produce novel nondairy functional foods [16, 19].

Fruit juices are indeed promising probiotic carriers due to their essential nutrient content along with their appeal to a niche of consumers who already care about healthier habits. Fruits are healthy and refreshing and have good taste and flavor

Probiotic Food matrices Food product References L. rhamnosus Apple Apple cubes [22] L. casei NRRL B-442 Cashew Cashew juice [23] L. casei Melon Melon juice [24]

cashew juice

lychee juice

orange juice

jussara juice

orange juice

of coconut

apple cubes

lychee juice

Fruit salad [28]

[25]

[27]

[20]

[29]

[30]

[35]

[36]

[21]

L. casei NRRL B-442 Cashew Dehydrated

Prebiotics and Probiotics - Potential Benefits in Human Nutrition and Health

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89155

L. casei 01 Lychee Dehydrated

L. casei NRRL B-442 Orange Dehydrated

L. casei NRRL B-442 Orange Dehydrated

L. casei NRRL B-442 Apple Dehydrated

L. plantarum MTCC2621 Lychee Dehydrated

Studies on the use of nondairy matrices for the transport of probiotic microorganisms.

L. plantarum 33 Olive Olive paste [26]

papaya, and mango

L. paracasei Orange Orange juice [31] L. plantarum Apple Apple cubes [32]

L. plantarum LS5 Lemon Lemon juice [34] L. plantarum DW12 Coconut water Fermented drink

Pineapple, banana, guava, apple,

Jussara Dehydrated

Mandarin Mandarin juice [33]

The observations that plant compounds, like complex carbohydrates and phenolics, may act synergistically with probiotics [43, 44] in formulations for gut health were important for nondairy probiotic product developers. Every food category from cereals to soy, to fruits and vegetables, has been the subject of research

The use of probiotics represents a promising, rapidly growing area for the development of functional foods. Probiotic crops are successfully applied to different food matrices [45]. However, the development of nondairy products represents a challenge for the industry, as each food matrix has unique characteristics, and it is

Probiotic foods should be safe and contain sufficient probiotic microorganisms during the shelf life of the product. Therefore, selected probiotic strains should be suitable for large-scale industrial production, with the ability to survive and retain

profile and can be suitable for probiotics [41, 42].

necessary to optimize and standardize each type of product.

for new product development.

L. rhamnosus HN001, L. acidophilus LA-5 e L. plantarum

Bifidobacterium animalis

spp. lactis

L. salivarius spp. salivarius CECT 4063

Table 1.

37

Nondairy probiotic products are found to a lesser extent in market and are usually restricted to traditional products based on cereals or soy [19]. The number of articles on the use of nondairy matrices for the transport of probiotic microorganisms increases each year (Table 1), which demonstrates the increasing interest they have received in the health sciences literature. From a scientific point of view, it is unquestionable that probiotics constitute an important field of investigation and study, with the digestive tract, more specifically the intestinal microbiota, as the main point [20, 21].

Fruit and vegetable juices can be considered as a new category of food matrices for probiotic bacteria [37] with developments reported in literature [38, 39]. Particularly, fruit juices have been reported as a novel and appropriate medium for probiotic for their content of essential nutrients. Moreover, they are usually referred as healthy foods, designed for young and old people [40].

Prebiotics and Probiotics - Potential Benefits in Human Nutrition and Health DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89155


#### Table 1.

nontraditional ingredients that offer health benefits. Within this context, fruit juices are indeed promising probiotic carriers due to their essential nutrient content along with their appeal to a niche of consumers who already care about healthier habits [5]. The great advantage of fruit juices as a probiotic food is that it is regularly consumed by high portion of the population, which would allow continuity of the

However, the viability of the microorganisms is defined during processing, being a necessary application of methods that can maintain or improve their viability and functionality. With this, new technologies have been proposed, among them, the microencapsulation stands out as a promising technique. The microencapsulation can be defined as a process in which small solid particles, liquid droplets, or gases are evolved by a coating layer, or incorporated into a homogeneous or

beneficial effect from the probiotic microorganisms carried by this food.

Prebiotics and Probiotics - Potential Benefits in Nutrition and Health

heterogeneous matrix, yielding small capsules with useful properties [6–9].

tion is the most used in the manufacture of foodstuffs [10, 11].

microorganisms microencapsulated

foods [16, 19].

36

the main point [20, 21].

by various methods. Some of them are spray drying, extrusion, freeze drying, fluidized bed, coacervation, and cocrystallization. Among these methods, atomiza-

in the form of powder, a continuous operation, through a relatively short time [12–14], being also the most used method to encapsulate probiotic bacteria [15].

2. Nondairy food matrices as a carrier of microencapsulated probiotic

thus, probiotics are live microorganisms (mainly bacteria but also yeasts) that confer a beneficial effect on the host if administered in proper amounts [16]. The most common probiotic microorganisms used commercially in food are bacteria from the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium [17]. Lactobacillus species used as probiotics in food include L. acidophilus, L. crispatus, L. amylovorus, L. gallinarum, L. gasseri, L. johnsonii, L. helveticus, L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, L. salivarius subsp. salivarius, L. casei, L. paracasei subsp. paracasei, L. paracasei subsp.

tolerans, L. plantarum, L. rhamnosus, L. fermentum, and L. reuteri [18].

The word probiotic comes from the Greek word "προ-βίος" that means "for life";

Probiotics are widely used in commercial functional products of animal origin, mainly fermented milk, such as yogurt and cheeses; however, the use of milk-based products may be limited by allergies, cholesterol diseases, dyslipidemia, and vegetarianism, and therefore, several raw materials have been extensively investigated to determine if they are suitable substrates to produce novel nondairy functional

Nondairy probiotic products are found to a lesser extent in market and are usually restricted to traditional products based on cereals or soy [19]. The number of articles on the use of nondairy matrices for the transport of probiotic microorganisms increases each year (Table 1), which demonstrates the increasing interest they have received in the health sciences literature. From a scientific point of view, it is unquestionable that probiotics constitute an important field of investigation and study, with the digestive tract, more specifically the intestinal microbiota, as

Fruit and vegetable juices can be considered as a new category of food matrices

for probiotic bacteria [37] with developments reported in literature [38, 39]. Particularly, fruit juices have been reported as a novel and appropriate medium for probiotic for their content of essential nutrients. Moreover, they are usually

referred as healthy foods, designed for young and old people [40].

The microencapsulation of food ingredients in coating materials can be achieved

The spray drying consists of transforming a product in fluid state into solid state

Studies on the use of nondairy matrices for the transport of probiotic microorganisms.

Fruit juices are indeed promising probiotic carriers due to their essential nutrient content along with their appeal to a niche of consumers who already care about healthier habits. Fruits are healthy and refreshing and have good taste and flavor profile and can be suitable for probiotics [41, 42].

The observations that plant compounds, like complex carbohydrates and phenolics, may act synergistically with probiotics [43, 44] in formulations for gut health were important for nondairy probiotic product developers. Every food category from cereals to soy, to fruits and vegetables, has been the subject of research for new product development.

The use of probiotics represents a promising, rapidly growing area for the development of functional foods. Probiotic crops are successfully applied to different food matrices [45]. However, the development of nondairy products represents a challenge for the industry, as each food matrix has unique characteristics, and it is necessary to optimize and standardize each type of product.

Probiotic foods should be safe and contain sufficient probiotic microorganisms during the shelf life of the product. Therefore, selected probiotic strains should be suitable for large-scale industrial production, with the ability to survive and retain their functionalities during food processing and storage [17]. Several strains of Lb. plantarum, Lb. acidophilus, and Lb. casei can grow in fruit matrices due to their tolerance to acidic environments [46].

complementing nutrients, increasing nutritional characteristics, and developing new flavors, our research group has been directing studies in this area in order to

In recent years our research group has been carrying out studies with microencapsulation of juices from various fruits, using maltodextrin as the main encapsulating agent. In a recent study [63], with mixed juice of tropical fruits, the process was optimized in order to obtain products with better sensorial and nutritional characteristics. Based on these results, in order to meet the growing demand for

The study related to the process of addition of probiotics to mixed juice in powder is an innovation, consisting of a new food product. Thus, the patent of product and process category was registered, at Brazil's National Institute of Industrial Property with Patent nature of Invention, under register number BR 102019

The objective was to develop a novel nondairy probiotic product, composed of

Currently there is a growing market for juices composed of more than one fruit, and this tendency is most observed in products that use tropical fruits. Tropical fruits are widely accepted by consumers and are important sources of antioxidant

Acerola (Malpighia emarginata D.C.) is a fruit native to Central America and Northern South America, with some of its largest plant area in Brazil, which has been increasingly produced, because of their high vitamin C contents from 700 to 1400 mg/100 g<sup>1</sup> [64–66]. The siriguela (Spondias purpurea L.) is a fruit from Anacardiaceae family originally from Central America and widespread in all tropical countries, mainly in the northeast region of Brazil. It is a small yellow fruit, with a pleasant aroma and taste, being a source of carotenoids [67, 68]. Thus, acerola and

The viability of probiotic bacteria is the most important parameter in the spray

) 8.50 0.04

) 24.40 0.70

Physical properties and microbial viability of acerola and siriguela probiotic mixed juice microencapsulated by spray drying using air inlet temperature 140°C, feed flow rate 0.60 L/h, and 10% maltodextrin DE 5.

mixed juice with three Lactobacillus microencapsulated by spray drying using

compounds. For this reason the acerola and siriguela were selected.

siriguela juice is an interesting nondairy matrix for a probiotic beverage.

drying process using microorganisms due to heat inactivation and exposure to dehydration, and maximum viability is there for the major goal for this type of product [25, 69]. Probiotic mixed powder juice with maltodextrin DE 5 presented viable cell counts above 6.0 log CFU.g<sup>1</sup> (Table 2), which is the minimum

Analyses Maltodextrin DE 5

Water activity 0.12 0.00 Moisture content (%) 2.09 0.06

Apparent density (g/mL) 0.38 0.01 Absolute density (g/mL) 1.97 0.01 Porosity (%) 31.13 0.29 Solubility (%) 92.75 2.03

provide results of scientific interest and to food industry.

Prebiotics and Probiotics - Potential Benefits in Human Nutrition and Health

functional foods, probiotic microorganisms were added.

009006 5.

maltodextrin DE 5.

Microbial viability (log CFU.g<sup>1</sup>

Hygroscopicity (g.100 g<sup>1</sup>

Table 2.

39

2.1 Microencapsulated probiotic mixed fruit juice

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89155

During food storage different factors may affect the viability of probiotic bacteria, such as probiotic strains used, pH, the presence of hydrogen peroxide and dissolved oxygen, buffering form, storage temperature, the nature of the ingredients added, and food matrices [23, 47, 48].

In order to exert beneficial effects on health, the number of viable cells of probiotic microorganisms should be located above 10<sup>6</sup> CFU.g<sup>1</sup> in the product for consumption, available over the entire shelf life. Therefore, the preservation of probiotic cultures in products during storage is of extreme importance [49].

In this context, microencapsulation of probiotic cells has been widely studied as a technique to improve the stability of these microorganisms by protecting them from unfavorable environments [17]. Microencapsulation also has a potential effect on reducing post-fermentation acidification and possible negative sensory effects of probiotic food products [50].

Among the microencapsulation technologies, spray drying and freeze drying are the most commonly used. However, spray drying is the most effective for largescale industrial production because it is a continuous, rapid process and has relatively low cost and high reproducibility [51, 52]. It is suggested as a technique that improves the survival of probiotics during food processing and storage, as well as confers protection of probiotics against subsequent exposure to the harsh conditions of the gastrointestinal tract, as this process gives a coating to the cells, protecting them from the outside environment [53].

Among the advantages of atomization, a distinguished one is the ability to handle heat-sensitive materials with high surface area/droplets volume ratio, resulting in shorter time of exposition to drying temperature [54]. Besides protecting probiotic cells from adverse conditions, powders obtained through spray dryer have good reconstitution and low water activity and are suited for storage at ambient temperature, what it is desirable, especially in commercial applications, due to higher operational costs associated with cooled storage, transport, and distribution difficulties [55, 56].

The characteristics of the powder produced in driers depend mainly on the operational variables of the drier (air inlet and outlet temperatures), on the product composition, solid concentration, feed flow rate, and also on the type of encapsulating agent used in the formulation [57].

Several studies reported that microencapsulation by spray dryer might provide a more favorable anaerobic environment for sensitive probiotic bacteria, as well as a physical barrier from the harsh acidic conditions of fruit juice [58]. The addition of probiotics in different fruit juices to produce functional beverages microencapsulated by spray drying has also been reported [21, 25, 27, 29].

The most commonly used carrier materials for encapsulation are maltodextrin. Maltodextrin (MD) is a polysaccharide, which molecular weight and properties depend on the hydrolysis process employed to obtain it from starch. Maltodextrin is classified by its dextrose equivalent (DE) which measures the amount of reducing sugars present in a sugar product, relative to dextrose [59–61].

The wall material is one of the most important parameters in the food microencapsulation processes. Its chemical composition and structure can affect the quality of the powdered product and criteria, such as solubility, apparent density, absolute density, porosity, particle size distribution, morphology, hygroscopicity, cell viability, water activity, moisture content, and sensory evaluation [61, 62].

However, to date there are no reports on the use of various probiotic microorganisms incorporated into a mixed beverage. In view of this, aiming at

complementing nutrients, increasing nutritional characteristics, and developing new flavors, our research group has been directing studies in this area in order to provide results of scientific interest and to food industry.
