Synergistic approach: Optimizing probiotic viability in ice cream through prebiotic based encapsulation and betalain fortification

Majid Hussain; Taha Rababah; Hifsa Izhar; Muhammad Azam; Ali Almajwal; Numan AL-Rayyan; Bandar N. Hamadneh; Vaida Bartkutė-Norkūnienė; Rania M. Jammal; Majid Hussain; Taha Rababah; Hifsa Izhar; Muhammad Azam; Ali Almajwal; Numan AL-Rayyan; Bandar N. Hamadneh; Vaida Bartkutė-Norkūnienė; Rania M. Jammal

doi:10.3934/agrfood.2025015

AIMS Agriculture and Food

2025, Volume 10, Issue 2: 293-313. doi: 10.3934/agrfood.2025015

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Research article

Synergistic approach: Optimizing probiotic viability in ice cream through prebiotic based encapsulation and betalain fortification

1.
Faculty of Food Science & Nutrition, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan
2.
Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan
3.
National Institute of Food Science and Technology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
4.
Department of Community Health Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia
5.
School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, United States
6.
Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Agriculture, Ajloun National University, Ajloun, Jordan
7.
Utena Higher Education Institution, Maironio str. 7, Utena, Lithuania
8.
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan

Received: 28 November 2024 Revised: 25 March 2025 Accepted: 15 April 2025 Published: 13 May 2025

This study explores the potential of ciceritol-based encapsulation alongside betalain fortification to improve the survival of Bifidobacterium bifidum (SP-9) in ice cream formulations. The encapsulated beads, which contain B. bifidum, were evaluated under simulated gastric and intestinal conditions, thus demonstrating enhanced survival rates compared to free cells. Incorporating ciceritol in combination with sodium alginate (M₂) significantly improved the survival in simulated intestinal conditions. Additionally, ice cream formulations enriched with encapsulated probiotics (M₂ micro capsules) and various concentrations of betalain extract (49, 29, 9%) were subjected to physicochemical and sensory evaluations. The results were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The ice cream variant IC-9, which contains 3301.02 mg/100g db betalains, exhibited favorable quality attributes with an increased hardness (0.38 kg) and viscosity (502.13 mPa.s), while the firmness (766.91 g) and consistency (2749.2 g.sec) remained comparable to the control. No significant change in pH (6.70–6.76) was observed, although the acidity levels increased from 0.21% (control) to 0.31% (IC9). IC-9 received superior sensory scores for the overall acceptability (7.88) and whitening index (45.01%). Conclusively, the current research found that the combination of ciceritol and sodium alginate served as the best encapsulating material, and subsequently focused on the potential use of betalains as natural colorants in the development of functional ice cream in enhancing both health benefits and sensory appeal in frozen desserts.
- prebiotic,
- natural coloring,
- ice cream,
- encapsulation,
- probiotics,
- Betalains
Citation: Majid Hussain, Taha Rababah, Hifsa Izhar, Muhammad Azam, Ali Almajwal, Numan AL-Rayyan, Bandar N. Hamadneh, Vaida Bartkutė-Norkūnienė, Rania M. Jammal. Synergistic approach: Optimizing probiotic viability in ice cream through prebiotic based encapsulation and betalain fortification[J]. AIMS Agriculture and Food, 2025, 10(2): 293-313. doi: 10.3934/agrfood.2025015

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Abstract

This study explores the potential of ciceritol-based encapsulation alongside betalain fortification to improve the survival of Bifidobacterium bifidum (SP-9) in ice cream formulations. The encapsulated beads, which contain B. bifidum, were evaluated under simulated gastric and intestinal conditions, thus demonstrating enhanced survival rates compared to free cells. Incorporating ciceritol in combination with sodium alginate (M₂) significantly improved the survival in simulated intestinal conditions. Additionally, ice cream formulations enriched with encapsulated probiotics (M₂ micro capsules) and various concentrations of betalain extract (49, 29, 9%) were subjected to physicochemical and sensory evaluations. The results were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The ice cream variant IC-9, which contains 3301.02 mg/100g db betalains, exhibited favorable quality attributes with an increased hardness (0.38 kg) and viscosity (502.13 mPa.s), while the firmness (766.91 g) and consistency (2749.2 g.sec) remained comparable to the control. No significant change in pH (6.70–6.76) was observed, although the acidity levels increased from 0.21% (control) to 0.31% (IC9). IC-9 received superior sensory scores for the overall acceptability (7.88) and whitening index (45.01%). Conclusively, the current research found that the combination of ciceritol and sodium alginate served as the best encapsulating material, and subsequently focused on the potential use of betalains as natural colorants in the development of functional ice cream in enhancing both health benefits and sensory appeal in frozen desserts.

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