Consortium development for microencapsulated probiotic preparations

The addition of probiotic microorganisms, which have proven beneficial effects on health, to food products to provide functional properties to foods is increasing due to the awareness and demands of consumers. Probiotic microorganisms are defined as living microorganisms that have a healthy effect on the host when consumed in sufficient amounts. In addition to probiotics, prebiotics also play an effective role in creating a balance in the intestinal microbiota. Prebiotics are defined as non-digestible food components that stimulate the intestinal microbiota and improve host health by working with probiotics. In this thesis, it was aimed to obtain synbiotic microcapsules by encapsulating probiotic bacteria isolated from fermented food products together with a prebiotic polysaccharide (inulin) to protect and increase the viability of probiotics. In this context, bacteria were isolated from different fermented food products and probiotic properties such as acid and bile tolerance, antimicrobial activity, acid production and EPS production ability of the isolates were determined. Bacteria with probiotic properties were selected and identified by molecular methods. Among the isolates obtained, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum BC-10, Hafnia paralvei BC-5, Lactococcus lactis BC-2 strains were selected for microencapsulation. Probiotic culture and prebiotic (inulin) were encapsulated with sodium alginate using extrusion method. The microcapsules were checked for viability, SGF and SIF resistances were determined, and characterized by size measurement and SEM imaging. As a result of the study; 16 probiotic bacteria were identified. Microcapsules containing only probiotics and probiotic-prebiotic mixtures significantly maintained their viability for 21 days and showed resistance to SGF-SIF media. The average size of the microcapsules was 2290 μm. It is thought that the microcapsules obtained will play an important role in functionalizing foods by adding probiotic properties.