Five yeast strains, Saccharomyces cerevisiae D8, M12, and S13; Hanseniaspora uvarum S6; and Issatchenkia orientalis KMBL5774, isolated from Korean grapes, were entrapped in Ca-alginate beads, which are non-toxic, simple to use, and economical. Ca-alginate beads containing yeast cells were soaked in protective solutions, such as skim milk, saccharides, polyols, and nitrogen compounds, before air-blast drying to improve the yeast survival rate and storage ability. The results showed that both entrapment in Ca-alginate beads and soaking in protective agents favorably affected the survival of all strains. The microenvironment formed by the beads and protective agents can protect the yeast cells from harsh environmental conditions, such as low water (below 10 %). All the yeast strains entrapped in Ca-alginate beads showed greater than 80 % survival and less than 11 % water content after air-blast drying at 37 °C for 5 h. In addition, air-blast dried cells of S. cerevisiae D8, M12, S13; H. uvarum S6; and I. orientalis KMBL5774 entrapped in 2 % Ca-alginate beads and soaked in protective agents (10 % skim milk containing 10 % sucrose, 10 % raffinose, 10 % trehalose, 10 % trehalose, and 10 % glucose, respectively) after air-blast drying at 37 °C for 5 h showed 90, 87, 92, 90, and 87 % viability, respectively. All dried entrapped yeast cells showed survival rates of at least 51 % after storage at 4 °C for 3 months.
Keywords: Air-blast drying; Calcium alginate bead; Improvement of storage ability; Yeast cell immobilization; Yeast survival rate.