Physicochemical and sensory properties of probiotic yogurt containing Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC 10241 microencapsulated with okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) mucilage and sodium alginate

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) mucilage is a water-soluble polysaccharide with high thickening viscosity properties in low concentrations. The main purpose of this project was to investigate the properties of Lactobacillus plantarum (LP) in the microencapsulated form (MLP) with sodium alginate and okra mucilage at the concentrations of 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8%. The survival ability time for maintaining the limiting number of probiotics (6.0 log CFU/g) of MLP (0.8%) was 4 min and it was greater than free L. plantarum (FLP) (2 min) at 72 degrees C. Microencapsulation of LP showed an effective mode of survival in a simulated gastrointestinal (GI) condition (decreased to 6.1 log CFU/g by GI transition). The MLP maintained a limited number of probiotics in yogurt for 12 days during the storage time. This study demonstrated that using okra mucilage encapsulation matrix increases cell viability and proper protection and therefore could be used in industrial yogurt.