LAUSR

BACKGROUND To improve the environmental resistance of probiotics, particularly the survival rate in gastrointestinal environment, fish gelatin (FG)/sodium alginate (SA) double network gelation (FSDN) was developed to encapsulate them. Thermal treatment and calcium ion-inducement were consecutively adopted to fabricate fish gelatin and sodium alginate gels, which was a process feasible to be scaled-up. The effects of FG concentration (0-60 g/L) on FSDN properties, including morphology, water holding capacity, and encapsulation efficiency were evaluated. RESULTS The results indicated that the addition of FG could improve the transparency, rehydration, and water holding capacity of FSDN. The scanning electronic microscope (SEM) images revealed that FSDN had denser and more complete structure than SA. The encapsulation efficiency was improved from 15.85% to 91.91% as FG concentration ranged from 0 to 50 g/L. Bifidobacterium longum embedded by FSDN showed better thermal stability than the free ones. Compared with bare probiotics (1.7%), the encapsulated ones exhibited higher viability (above 15%) in simulated gastric fluid. CONCLUSION In conclusion, the interpenetrating FSDN is an effective barrier constituent and could achieve the targeted delivery of probiotics. It is a potential new delivery carrier for oral administration of probiotic. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.