Development and characterization of Lactobacillus acidophilus (LA-3) microparticles with reducing substances and its addition to Reino cheese

Probiotic microencapsulation provides additional protection to the microorganism, facilitating its survival in cheese. This study aimed to develop and to characterize Lb. acidophilus microparticles with l-cysteine hydrochloride and/or ascorbic acid and subsequently add them to Reino cheese. Four microparticles formulations were developed, the survival percentage of Lb. acidophillus was monitored during refrigeration (60 days) and the best formulation was characterized by morphology, distribution and size analysis. Three cheese formulations were developed, T1 (without Lb. acidophilus), T2 (containing free microorganism) and T3 (containing produced microparticles). The cheeses were analyzed after 1 and 25 days of ripening for the microbiological quality control parameters and viability of Lactobacillus spp. The encapsulation yield was over 80% in all microparticles. Formulation F3 showed 33 ± 0.16% lactobacilli survival even after 60 days, demonstrated the effect of the reducing substance added and had a mean diameter of 58 ± 1.51 μm and were spherical, smooth and uniform in shape. The T3 cheese containing the probiotic microparticles showed the highest lactobacilli viability (8.49 ± 0.08 Log CFU/g), provided additional protection to the Lb. acidophilus microorganism benefiting microbial cell survival, and therefore resulted in a ripened Reino cheese with functional probiotic potential for industrial cheese application.