Ultrasound-assisted multilayer Pickering emulsion fabricated by WPI-EGCG covalent conjugates for encapsulating...

This study demonstrated the influences of ultrasound-assisted multilayer Pickering double emulsion capsules on the pasteurization and gastrointestinal digestive viability of probiotic (L. plantarum) strain liquid. Firstly, the role of ultrasonic homogenization on the morphology of W₁/O/W₂ double emulsions were studied. The double emulsion formed by ultrasonic intensity at 285 W had a single and narrow distribution with smallest droplet size. The double emulsion particles were then coated with chitosan(Chi), alginate (Alg), and CaCl₂(Ca). The multilayer emulsion after pasteurization and gastrointestinal digestion both had the highest viability at 5 coating layers, but its particle size (108.65 μm) exceeded the limit of human oral sensory (80 μm). It could be noted that the deposition of 3-4 layers of coating had similar activity after pasteurization/GIT digestion. And droplets with 3 layers of coating were the minimum and most available formulation for encapsulated probiotics (L. plantarum). Hence, the results suggest that the use of ultrasound-assisted multilayer emulsions encapsulated with probiotics in granular food and pharmaceutical applications is a promising strategy.