Effect of microencapsulation of Lactobacillus plantarum 25 into alginate/chitosan/alginate microcapsules on viability and cytokine induction.

Lactobacillus plantarum 25 (LP25) encapsulated into alginate/chitosan/alginate (ACA) microcapsules (LP25-ACA MCs) prepared by an extrusion methods were characterized to assess their efficacy in oral delivery. The particle sizes of LP25-ACA MCs were 1.11 +/- 0.32 mm. The loading content of LP25 was 1.11 x 10(7) colony forming unit (cfu)/microcapsule and encapsulation efficiency was above 98%. The viability of LP25 in ACA MCs was more than 65% in simulated gastric fluid (SGF, pH 2.0) and 75% in simulated small intestinal fluid (SIF, pH 7.2) up to 2 h. Encapsulated LP25 were completely released from LP25-ACA MCs in SIF and simulated colon fluid (SCF, pH 6.0) within 12 h and 8 h respectively. The viability of LP25 in ACA MCs till 5 weeks was above 58%, whereas viability of free LP25 stored at room temperature up to 5 weeks was zero. Besides, LP25-ACA MCs induced the secretion of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) from macrophages and dendritic cells showing the immunomodulatory effect of LP25. These findings demonstrate that the encapsulation of LP25 by ACA is a suitable strategy for oral delivery of probiotics.