Abstract
The present study aimed to investigate and evaluate the efficiency of immobilizing the Lactobacillus plantarum TN9 strain in alginate using chitosan and gelatin as coating materials, in terms of viability and antibacterial activity. The results indicate that maximum concentrations of L. plantarum TN9 strain were produced with 2% sodium alginate, 10(8)UFC/ml, and 1M calcium chloride. The viability and antibacterial activity of the L. plantarum TN9 cultures before and after immobilization in alginate, chitosan-coated alginate, and gelatin-coated alginate, were studied. The findings revealed that the viability of encapsulated L. plantarum could be preserved more than 5.8 log CFU/ml after 35 day of incubation at 4 °C, and no effects were observed when gelatin was used. The antibacterial activity of encapsulated L. plantarum TN9 against Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria was enhanced in the presence of chitosan coating materials, and no activity was observed in the presence of gelatin. The effects of catalase and proteolytic enzymes on the culture supernatant of L. plantarum TN9 were also investigated, and the results suggested that the antibacterial activity observed was due to the production of organic acids. Taken together, the findings indicated that immobilization in chitosan enhanced the antibacterial activity of L. plantarum TN9 against several pathogenic bacteria. This encapsulated strain could be considered as a potential strong candidate for future application as an additive in the food and animal feed industries.