Probiotics are live microorganisms which when consumed in sufficient amounts are beneficial for human health. Lactobacillus acidophilus is a type of beneficial bacteria that has been studied extensively, for its beneficial properties. The survival and viability of probiotic bacteria is often low under simulated conditions of gastrointestinal tract which increases the chances of potential pathogens to dominate and cause infection. Among several methods that increase the survival of probiotics, Encapsulation serves the most rational technique. Hence this investigation reports the effect of microencapsulation using sodium alginate and starch on the tolerance or survival of probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus to selected processing conditions and stimulated gastrointestinal environments. Microencapsulation provided better protection at stimulated conditions of gastric pH (1.0 and 2.0) and at high bile salt concentrations (1.0% and 2.0%). The release of the microencapsulated organisms at pH required 3 h. These studies demonstrated that microencapsulation of probiotic L. acidophilus in sodium alginate is an effective technique of protection against extreme processing conditions and under stimulated gastrointestinal environment.
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