The perceived health benefit of probiotics has led to a rapid expansion of their use in various health-based products. The beneficial effect of these probiotic cells is largely dependent on their ability to reach their appropriate site of action, usually the distal gut, in a viable condition and in sufficient numbers. In an attempt to establish a microbiota in formula-fed infants resembling that of breast-fed ones, infant formula manufacturers are increasingly incorporating probiotics into their products. The administration of probiotic cells via oral administration is associated with a large decrease in the number of viable cells due to the high acid and bile salt concentrations present in the stomach. Powdered infant formulae are also expected to have long term stability particularly in comparison to products normally associated with probiotics, which can adversely affect the viability of probiotic cells. Finally, the processing techniques used to generate infant formula can cause a dramatic loss in the number of viable cells present in the product by the time it is consumed. Microencapsulation technology is emerging as an effective way to protect cells during food processing and also allows targeted delivery of the cells to appropriate sites in the gastro-intestinal tract improving the efficacy of the final product and lowering the economic cost incurred by producers due to logistic and stability issues. In this review, the current situation of probiotics in infant formula, and the encapsulation techniques being developed using milk and pea proteins as encapsulating materials to improve their viability are discussed.
Keywords: Follow-up formula; Infant formula; Microencapsulation; Probiotic; Protein.
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