Determination of stability of Lactobacillus Acidophilus co-encapsulated with hawthorn juice in in vitro gastrointestinal conditions and apple juice

Consumer demand for functional foods containing probiotics and prebiotics has been increasing in recent years. In this thesis study, co-encapsulation of hawthorn (Crataegus orientalis) juice and Lactobacillus acidophilus was carried out using only maltodextrin and maltodextrin-inulin combinations using the spray drying method. It was aimed to determine the yield, efficiency level, physical properties, total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of the encapsules obtained after spray drying and to examine the viability in in vitro gastrointestinal conditions. The effect of the obtained encapsules on the viability level and storage stability of L. acidophilus was investigated by adding them to apple juice. The highest encapsulation efficiency was determined in the formulation consisting of 15% (w/v) maltodextrin and 15% (w/v) inulin. The highest encapsulation efficiency (71.53 ± 1.87) was found in the encapsules obtained by using only maltodextrin in the formulation. Free and encapsulated L. acidophilus stability was monitored over time in apple juice at two different temperatures (4 °C and 25 °C). The highest loss of viability was determined at 25 °C. On the 42nd day of storage in apple juice at 4 °C, the viability of L. acidophilus was determined as 6.72 ± 0.02 log cfu/mL and 6.50 ± 0.03 log cfu/mL, respectively (P<0.05). The free state was found to be more sensitive to the storage process than the encapsulated state. It was determined that pH, brix, water activity and total color difference (∆E) values decreased, but the total acidity amount increased depending on the time during the storage process of the encapsule samples in apple juice. As a result, with this study, an alternative food product was formulated with the addition of co-encapsule probiotics to fruit juice for consumers who want to buy probiotic-containing foods other than dairy products. In this way, using fruit and probiotics together will make it possible to obtain a new product that can create added value.