Development of Value-Added Butter by Incorporating Whey Protein Hydrolysate-Encapsulated Probiotics.

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Microbiology
• Biotechnology

Background:

• The growing probiotic foods market faces challenges in maintaining probiotic viability and functionality.
• A prior study developed a spray-dried encapsulant (whey protein hydrolysate-maltodextrin) with probiotics, showing high viability and bioactivity.
• Viscous food products like butter are potential carriers for encapsulated probiotics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To standardize a spray-dried probiotic encapsulant in salted and unsalted butter.
• To evaluate the storage stability of encapsulated probiotics in butter at 4 °C.
• To assess the impact of encapsulated probiotics on butter's physicochemical and microbiological properties.

Main Methods:

• Lab-scale butter preparation with encapsulated probiotics at 0.1% and 1% concentrations.
• Physicochemical analysis including acid value and hardness.
• Microbiological characterization focusing on probiotic viability (LA5 and BB12) and stability.
• Storage stability assessment at 4 °C.

Main Results:

• Butter samples with 1% encapsulant exhibited significantly higher probiotic viability and better physicochemical properties compared to 0.1%.
• The 1% encapsulated probiotic butter demonstrated superior probiotic ratio stability (LA5 and BB12) over storage compared to unencapsulated controls.
• While acid values increased and hardness showed mixed trends, these changes were not statistically significant.

Conclusions:

• Incorporating spray-dried encapsulated probiotics into both salted and unsalted butter is feasible.
• Higher encapsulant concentration (1%) enhances probiotic viability and stability in butter.
• Butter serves as a viable carrier for encapsulated probiotics, offering a proof of concept for improved delivery in food products.