Pulsed electric field for increasing intracellular trehalose content in Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1

The market for probiotics is growing. Probiotic survival during processing steps such as spray drying is essential for their beneficial effect. We studied pulsed electric field treatment as a method to increase the intracellular trehalose content in L. plantarum WCFS1 which could enhance bacterial robustness during processing. This increased bacterial robustness may again contribute to more energy efficient processing routes of probiotic foods.