Microencapsulation of live probiotic bacteria.

Scientific research regarding the use of live bacterial cells for therapeutic purposes has been rapidly growing over the years and has generated considerable interest to scientists and health professionals. Probiotics are defined as essential live microorganisms which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host. Due to considerable beneficial health effects, these microorganisms are increasingly incorporated into the dairy products; however, many reports demonstrated their poor survival and stability. Their survival in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is also questionable. To overcome these problems, microencapsulation techniques are currently receiving considerable attention. This review describes the importance of live probiotic bacterial microencapsulation using an alginate microparticulate system and presents the potentiality of various coating polymers such as chitosan and polylysine for improving the stability of this microencapsulation.