All Bio-Based μ-Beads from Microalgae for Probiotics Delivery

The food of the future aims to offer several essential qualities: i) environmental respect in sourcing raw materials; ii) sustainable transformation processes; iii) enrichment with probiotic microorganisms; iv) biocompatible natural matrices. These features both enhance the nutritional value of the food and improve its pharmacological and immunological properties. When probiotics are introduced into gut in adequate densities through diet, they symbiotically promote health by boosting immune defense, producing beneficial organic molecules, and providing essential metabolic pathways for better nutrient assimilation and biotransformation. A major challenge with probiotics is their low resistance to gastrointestinal (GI) transit due to pH and other adverse hydro-ionic conditions affecting their viability. Here, diatom microalgae (Coscinodiscus granii) is presented as a natural source of micro-pills, functionalized with biopolymers (Shellac and Chitosan) for enteric protection, with a loading value of 71 ± 7%, higher in comparison with the loading capacity tested for two other commercial polymers. Moreover, biosilica embedded and sealed with the enteric polymers best-protected probiotics under pH changes, and thermal and storage stresses by one-fold more than the control probiotics without or with the lone shielding polymers. These work outcomes describe envisaging silica hybrid microcarriers obtained from living microalgae, effectively protecting probiotics in an entirely biological formulation.