Resistant starch (Hi maize) and chitosan at concentrations of 1% and 0.4% were added to the microencapsulation
of Lactobacillus acidophilus in alginate beads by extrusion technique. Moist and freeze-dried
microparticles were analyzed. The addition of prebiotics and chitosan increased the size of the moist
particles, whose diameter was 70.37 mm, while the diameter of the microparticles containing alginate
alone was 55.13 mm. In contrast, the freeze-dried microparticles of alginate and alginate þ Hi
eMaize þ chitosan had diameters of 114.51 mm and 112.50 mm, respectively. Both Hiemaize and chitosan
provided better protection of probiotics after exposure of the moist microparticles to simulated gastric
and intestinal juice, with counts of 6.35 log CFU g1, while lower counts were observed for the freezedried
microcapsules. Regarding the viability of the probiotic culture during the storage periods and
temperatures, all treatments were viable, with suitable values to confer the probiotic effects (