Maillard conjugate of whey protein isolate-xylooligosaccharides for the microencapsulation of Lactobacillus rhamnosus: Protective effects and stability during spray drying, storage and gastrointestinal digestion

The Maillard reaction products (MRPs) of whey protein isolate (WPI) and xylooligosaccharides (XOS) were prepared by a moist heat method for use as protectants to encapsulate Lactobacillus rhamnosus via spray drying. The protective effects of MRPs on bacterial cells during drying, storage, and in vitro digestion were explored. FTIR results indicated that MRPs were successfully prepared. All MRPs showed good thermo-protective effect on the bacteria, and the survival ratio achieved with 1 : 2 XOS–WPI as a wall material reached 99.83 ± 8.44%, which was around 2 times as high as that of the WPI wall material and 1.5 times as high as that of the 1 : 2 XOS–WPI mixture. The dried lactobacilli showed similar growth curves to the fresh culture. After 10 weeks of storage at 4 °C, the decrease in the bacterial activity was less than 1 log CFU g−1 for all types of microcapsules, while the microcapsules composed of all MRPs had better storage stability. MRPs improved the stability of microcapsules during in vitro digestion. The number of viable bacteria in 1 : 2 XOS–WPI MRPs microcapsules was maintained at 4.09 ± 0.59 × 109 CFU g−1 after simulated gastrointestinal digestion for 4 hours, which only decreased by 0.20 log CFU g−1.