Physical characteristic and viability of Lactobacillus Acidophillus microparticle using HPMC K100LV and HPMC K4M as matrices

Objective: Lactobacillus Acidophillus is widely used in food supplement that requires viability in the range of 10⁶ - 10¹² cfu /per gram. This microbe is not stable in acidic conditions and has been reported that the number of their colonies in fermented milk products decreased by 5 logs in acidic solution. In the other side, the probiotic microbe is required to survive GI tract passage and remains viable. In order to maintain their viability and increase their stability in such environments, Lactobacillus Acidophillus, were entrapped in HPMC K100LV as a protectant using microencapsulation technique. Methods: The Lactobacillus acidophillus cells were inoculated in MRS broth media at 37 °C for 48 hours. A number of cell (more than 10⁹ cfu/ml) wassuspended in 10% milk solution. The cultures were then cooled at 20° C for about 12 hours, and subsequently mixed with suspension of HPMC K4M 0%, 0,3%, 0,5%, 0,8% and HPMC K100LV 0%, 0,5%, 1% and 1,5%. The mixtures were then dried using spray drying method. The Physical characteristics of the microparticles and the viability of the microbe in the microcapsules were evaluated, including the microparticle morphology, size and moisture content. The viability was measured by Total Plate Count method. Results: showed that all microparticles exhibited spherical shape with the size in range of 6,0 - 8,0 um. The moisture content was in range of 8,0 - 10,0%. The highest viability was obtained by formulation of HPMC K100LV 1% and HPMC K4M 0,3%. Conclusion: of this study is that HPMC K100LV and HPMC K100M are good matrices for probiotic microcapsule based on the physical characteristic and the microbe viability (probiotic viability > 10⁷ cfu/g).