Abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of Bifidobacterium RH to be used as a probiotic product. We examined the viability of the probiotic under simulated gastrointestinal conditions and we investigated the production of probiotic microcapsules with resistance to various negative factors. The bacterial counts were 107 CFU/mL and 106 CFU/mL, respectively, under simulated gastrointestinal conditions separately and sequentially. The optimized wall material of microcasuples contained l0% glycerol, 0.50% sodium alginate, 1.50% whey protein, 1.25% Arabic gum and 1.25% soybean lecithin as determined by one-factor-at-a-time and orthogonal array designs. The count of viable Bifidobacterial cells in the microcapsules was 1.80 × 1012 CFU/g, and with respect to encapsulation efficiency, the results showed a mean value of 96.04%. Thus, the study demonstrated that microencapsulated Bifidobacterium RH could be resistant to simulated gastrointestinal conditions. The microencapsulation process was shown to efficiently increase the viability of probiotic cultures, and the microorganism was released from the microcapsules. This study may provide a theoretical and technical support for the development of probiotic products containing Bifidobacterium RH.

Key words: Bifidobacterium RH, simulated gastrointestinal conditions, microcapsules