Probiotics often infused into functional foods or encapsulated in a supplement form are important for maintaining a healthy balance between the gut microbiota and its host. Currently, in markets, there are milk-based functional foods such as yogurt and cheese. Thus, milk-based probiotics have been suggested incorporating skim milk proteins in a liquid capsule. Skim milk is mainly composed of casein and whey protein, which creates a strong natural barrier and can be used to encapsulate probiotics. In this study, we compared the encapsulated probiotics prepared with milk-based concentrated cell mixtures using commercial probiotics. Probiotic capsules were emulsified with skim milk proteins using vegetable oil, forming a double coating layer. The product was heat-stable when tested using a Rheometer. The survival rate of the milk-based probiotic cells in the lower gastric environment with bile was significantly higher than commercial probiotics. Thus, milk-encapsulated probiotics exhibited better efficacy in its host than other types of probiotics. These probiotics could likely be more viable with a longer shelf life under harsh conditions. Collectively, this study suggested that compared with other types of probiotics, milk-based probiotics could be a better choice for its producers and consumers.

中文翻译：

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牛奶蛋白对益生菌胶囊生物学和流变学特性的影响。

益生菌通常被注入功能性食品或以补充剂形式封装，对于维持肠道菌群与其宿主之间的健康平衡非常重要。目前，市场上有酸奶、奶酪等以牛奶为基础的功能性食品。因此，有人建议将基于牛奶的益生菌在液体胶囊中加入脱脂牛奶蛋白。脱脂牛奶主要由酪蛋白和乳清蛋白组成，形成了强大的天然屏障，可用于包裹益生菌。在这项研究中，我们比较了使用商业益生菌与基于牛奶的浓缩细胞混合物制备的胶囊化益生菌。使用植物油将益生菌胶囊与脱脂乳蛋白乳化，形成双层包衣层。当使用流变仪测试时，该产品是热稳定的。基于牛奶的益生菌细胞在含有胆汁的下胃环境中的存活率明显高于商业益生菌。因此，牛奶包裹的益生菌在其宿主中表现出比其他类型的益生菌更好的功效。这些益生菌在恶劣条件下可能更有效，保质期更长。总的来说，这项研究表明，与其他类型的益生菌相比，基于牛奶的益生菌可能是其生产者和消费者更好的选择。