title: Probiotic Ferulic Acid Esterase Active Lactobacillus fermentum NCIMB 5221 APA Microcapsules for Oral Delivery: Preparation and in Vitro Characterization.
abstract: Probiotics possess potential therapeutic and preventative effects for various diseases and metabolic disorders. One important limitation for the oral delivery of probiotics is the harsh conditions of the upper gastrointestinal tract (GIT) which challenge bacterial viability and activity. One proposed method to surpass this obstacle is the use of microencapsulation to improve the delivery of bacterial cells to the lower GIT. The aim of this study is to use alginate-poly-L-lysine-alginate (APA) microcapsules to encapsulate Lactobacillus fermentum NCIMB 5221 and characterize its enzymatic activity and viability through a simulated GIT. This specific strain, in previous research, was characterized for its inherent ferulic acid esterase (FAE) activity which could prove beneficial in the development of a therapeutic for the treatment and prevention of cancers and metabolic disorders. Our findings demonstrate that the APA microcapsule does not slow the mass transfer of substrate into and that of the FA product out of the microcapsule, while also not impairing bacterial cell viability. The use of simulated gastrointestinal conditions led to a significant 2.5 log difference in viability between the free (1.10 × 104 ± 1.00 × 103 cfu/mL) and the microencapsulated (5.50 × 106 ± 1.00 × 105 cfu/mL) L. fermentum NCIMB 5221 following exposure. The work presented here suggests that APA microencapsulation can be used as an effective oral delivery method for L. fermentum NCIMB 5221, a FAE-active probiotic strain.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Technology and Cell Therapy Research Laboratory, Departments of Biomedical Engineering, Physiology, and Artificial Cells and Organs Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, 3775 University Street, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 2B4, Canada. satya.prakash@mcgill.ca.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tomaro-Duchesneau
authors.forename: Shyamali
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saha
authors.forename: Meenakshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Malhotra
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Coussa-Charley
authors.forename: Imen
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kahouli
authors.forename: Mitchell L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Labbé
authors.forename: Satya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Prakash