2.2. Preparation of wall materials and cell mixture
2.2.1. Preparation of whey protein isolate and sodium
alginate (WPI + SA) cell mixture
Whey protein isolate (WPI) was obtained fromUltimate Nutrition
(Farmington, CT, USA). Sodium alginate (SA)was procured
from Sisco Research Lab (Mumbai, India). WPI powder (12.5 g)
was mixed with 200 mL sterile distilled water in a beaker and
the solution was stirred gently using a magnetic stirrer to dissolve
the WPI. SA powder (12.5 g) was added to the above solution
and stirred until complete dissolution. The freshly
harvested cell concentrate of L. plantarum (25 g) was mixed
with equal proportion of WPI and SA solution to obtain 1:1
(w/w) core-to-wall ratio. The final volume was made to 15%
(w/v) with sterile distilled water (83 mL) and mixed further
for 5 min before spray drying and freeze drying operations.