The technological properties of inulin were exploited to develop a physically stable dressing emulsion able to
sustain the viability of the probiotic microorganism Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei DC412, both during
storage as well as under conditions simulating those of the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract environment.
Cell viability, following their entrapment inside the oil droplets of three emulsion systems differing
in the type of emulsifier used (egg yolk, gum arabic/xanthan and whey protein isolate), was found to be
lower than that of cells freely suspended in the continuous phase of a yolk-stabilized dressing emulsion, especially
in the presence of inulin. This emulsion system was investigated further by applying response surface
methodology to establish the relationships between the main factors, storage time, and inulin and yolk content,
on one hand, and the response variables, probiotic count before and after treatment with GI track enzyme
fluids, consistency index and creaming stability, on the other.