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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Dairy and Functional Foods Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #308649
Title: Preserving viability of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG in vitro and in vivo by a new encapsulation system

Author
item LI, RAN - Tianjin Polytechnic University
item ZHANG, YUFENG - Tianjin Polytechnic University
item POLK, D. BRENT - University Of Southern California
item Tomasula, Peggy
item YAN, FANG - Vanderbilt University Medical Center
item Liu, Linshu

Submitted to: Controlled Release Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/5/2016
Publication Date: 4/7/2016
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/62606
Citation: Li, R., Zhang, Y., Polk, D., Tomasula, P.M., Yan, F., Liu, L.S. 2016. Preserving viability of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG in vitro and in vivo by a new encapsulation system. Controlled Release Journal. 230:79-87. DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2016.04.009.

Interpretive Summary: The probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) has beneficial effects on intestinal diseases such as colitis and other inflammatory disorders. LGG is stable at acidic pH equal to or higher than 3, but is not viable at pH less than 3. The pH in the human stomach varies from 1 to 4, depending on the type and amount of food ingested. For patients of colitis, LGG should be taken frequently and in large amounts so that LGG may pass through the acidic environment of the stomach, survive protease (enzyme) attack in the small intestine, and still have sufficient viable numbers to deliver at the colon site. In the present study, LGG was encapsulated in pectin gel beads containing glucose. The encapsulation created a neutral microenvironment to protect LGG as it traveled from the low pH in the stomach to the colon site. Oral administration of encapsulated LGG was shown to prevent colonic injury and colitis using a mouse model. The encapsulation approach used in this study improves the survival of LGG and can help protect the intestine from inflammatory disorders.

Technical Abstract: Probiotics have shown beneficial effects on human health. To increase the efficacy of probiotic applications, we used Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) as a probiotic model to investigate approaches to enhance the bioavailability of probiotics. LGG was encapsulated in hydrogel beads containing pectin, a food grade polysaccharide, glucose and calcium chloride. Encapsulated LGG was incubated under conditions that mimicked the physiological condition of the human gastrointestinal tract to evaluate the growth of LGG. Encapsulation increased the acid stability of LGG, protected it from protease digestion, and promoted the production of p40 and p75, two known LGG-derived proteins involved in the beneficial effects of LGG on intestinal homeostasis. To evaluate the effects of encapsulation on the ability of LGG to prevent intestinal injury and colitis, mice were treated with dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) for 4 days with the co-treatment of LGG with and without encapsulation. Administration of encapsulated LGG, but not un-encapsulated LGG, prevented DSS-induced colonic injury and colitis. These data suggest that the encapsulation approach developed in this study improves the survival of LGG and its efficacy for protection of the intestine from inflammatory disorders.