The Effect of Carboxymethyl Glucomannan Concentration on the Properties of Glucomannan-Chitosan Hydrogel for Lactobacillus acidophilus FNCC 0051 Encapsulation

The effect of porang (Amorphophallus oncophyllus) glucomannan concentration on the properties of glucomannan-chitosan hydrogel was investigated for Lactobacillus acidophilus FNCC 0051 encapsulation. The spherical shape with a continuous surface of the particle was self-assembly formed. The increase of glucomannan concentration from 0.3 to 0.9 % smoothly increased their small particle size from 1.08 ± 0.02 µm to 2.12 ± 0.00 µm and no significant change on the positive zeta potential values. The polydispersity indexes with the value between 0.4 to 0.5 were categorized as uniform particles. However, these values were higher compared to other studies which used konjac glucomannan-chitosan as the hydrogel materials. The encapsulation study with Lactobacillus acidophilus FNCC 0051 showed that the highest value was achieved when the same ratio of glucomannan and chitosan was applied (0.5 %). The viability study proved the perfect protection of hydrogel during 56 days of cold storage and pasteurization treatment with the cell viabilities of 100 % and 58.13 ± 18.5 %, respectively. HIGHLIGHTS Glucomannan concentration influenced particle size and encapsulation efficiency of hydrogel Hydrogel was potential as acidophilus carrier in the gut due to its pH sensitivity Hydrogel had continuous surface to provide a stronger physical barrier for the acidophilus against harsh environment Hydrogel proved well protection of acidophilus during pasteurization and cold storage GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT