Determination of probiotic characteristics and resistance to biological barriers under in vitro gastrointestinal conditions in goat cheese produced using microencapsulated probiotic bacteria

The method of microencapsulation has been performed on the probiotic microorganisms (Lactobacillus paracasei and Bifidobacterium longum), which are used in conjunction with the starter cultures in white cheese production from goat‘s milk. For this purpose, 3 types of microcapsules, namely, one containing the probiotic bacteria and another symbiotic microcapsule containing the probiotic bacteria and fructooligosaccharides have been obtained in the study and the cheese containing these microcapsules were produced. The cheese samples have been stored at +40C for 180 days and during storage, loss in viabiality that might be consisted at in-vitro conditions at gastrointestinal system is analyzed. The present study revealed that probiotic bacteria at different bile concentrations gained resistance during maturation, and the rate of resistance was higher in prebiotic and protein-supported microencapsulated probiotic bacteria. The resistance of lactic acid bacteria used in cheese production to gastric secretions was lower than that of probiotic bacteria. The determination of hydrophobicity of bacteria revealed that Bifidobacterium longum had the highest hydrophobicity level followed by Lactococcus, which forms the cheese culture, while Lactobacillus paracasei had the lowest level. It was determined that the microencapsulation method reduced the viability losses of probiotic microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract.