Microencapsulation of probiotic jussara (Euterpe edulis M.) juice by spray drying

• Probiotic jussara juice was encapsulated by spray drying.
• Maltodextrin, inulin and oligofructose were used as wall materials.
• Bifidobacterium cell counts were reduced in 1 log cycle during spray drying.
• Viable cell counts in all powders were above 6.0 log CFU/g.
• Bioactive compounds were higher in sample produced with 50% maltodextrin +50% inulin.

The objective of this work was to produce a powdered probiotic jussara juice, aiming at adding value to a fruit rich in bioactive compounds. For this purpose, jussara juice added with the probiotic microorganism Bifidobacterium spp. Lactis was microencapsulated by spray drying using different types and combinations of wall materials, in order to evaluate the effect of the addition of different prebiotics in combination with maltodextrin. Four wall material formulations were studied: maltodextrin, maltodextrin + inulin (1:1), maltodextrin + oligofructose (1:1) and maltodextrin + inulin + oligofructose (2:1:1). The samples produced with these formulations were characterized for the viable cell count after spray drying, total phenolics and anthocyanin content, antiradical activity and physical properties such as hygroscopicity, particle size distribution and bulk density. Results showed that all the formulations resulted in similar viable cell counts, showing a reduction of approximately 1 log cycle during spray drying. Regarding the physicochemical properties, the sample produced with maltodextrin + inulin (1:1) showed the best results, with the highest anthocyanin and phenolic content, as well as the lowest hygroscopicity, being selected as the most appropriate formulation for encapsulation of probiotic jussara juice.