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Updated: Jul 11, 2025

Author Spotlight: Process Development for the Spray-Drying of Probiotic Bacteria and Evaluation of the Product Quality
Published on: April 7, 2023
Advances in polysaccharides for probiotic delivery: Properties, methods, and applications
Qianqian Lin1, Yanxue Si2, Fengshan Zhou2
1Beijing Key Laboratory of Materials Utilization of Nonmetallic Minerals and Solid Wastes, National Laboratory of Mineral Materials, School of Materials Science and Technology, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), No. 29 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, PR China; Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Nanoscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, No. 11 Zhongguancun Beiyitiao, Haidian District, Beijing 100190, PR China.
Polysaccharides offer a promising solution for protecting probiotics during delivery. This review explores their use in microencapsulation technologies and applications, addressing challenges in industrial production.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Microbiology
- Food Science
Background:
- Probiotics enhance host health but require protection for viability in harsh conditions.
- Polysaccharides offer non-toxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable solutions for probiotic delivery.
- Forming a physical barrier, polysaccharides show promise for effective probiotic encapsulation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review polysaccharides used in probiotic microencapsulation.
- To introduce various microencapsulation technologies for probiotics.
- To discuss strategies, applications, and challenges of polysaccharide-based probiotic delivery systems.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of polysaccharides for probiotic microencapsulation.
- Summary of microencapsulation techniques: extrusion, emulsion, spray drying, freeze drying, electrohydrodynamics.
- Analysis of strategies for enhanced probiotic protection and applications.
Main Results:
- Polysaccharides are effective in protecting probiotics via microencapsulation.
- Various technologies like spray drying and electrohydrodynamics are suitable for encapsulation.
- Applications span functional foods, oral formulations, and animal feed.
Conclusions:
- Polysaccharide-based microencapsulation enhances probiotic viability and delivery.
- Challenges remain in industrial-scale production and application of these systems.
- Further research is needed to optimize polysaccharide-based probiotic delivery systems.
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