Abstract: Probiotics are susceptible to various factors such as temperature, oxygen, gastric acid, and bile salts during processing, storage, and gastrointestinal delivery, which often leads to reduced viability and bioactivity. This remains a core challenge hindering probiotics limiting the full exertion of their health-beneficial effects. Carrier encapsulation technology is considered an effective strategy to enhance the tolerance of probiotics and ensure their efficient intestinal-targeted delivery. In recent years, with the growing demand for sustainable and environmentally friendly materials, plant-based ingredients have demonstrated remarkable advantages in the field of probiotic encapsulation owing to their favorable gelation, emulsification, and film-forming properties. This article systematically reviews the encapsulation technologies commonly used for probiotic delivery and elucidates their characteristics and application limitations. It focuses on analyzing the functional properties of plant proteins, polysaccharides, and lipids in delivery carriers, as well as evaluating their effects on intestinal targeted delivery. Furthermore, the compatibility between different plant-based materials and delivery technologies is compared. Finally, the practical applications of plant-based encapsulated probiotics in the food sector are summarized, aiming to provide theoretical insights and practical guidance for the targeted design and development of sustainable encapsulation materials.

Key words: probiotics; delivery systems; plant materials; food applications