Formulation & stability of Lactobacillus acidophilus microcapsules with a clinical trial for treatment and eradication of Helicobacter pylori infections

Abstract

Probiotics are live microorganisms that administered through the digestive tract, have a positive impact on the hosts health. In this study research has shown that extraction method (encapsulation in alginate systems) can be used as an effective method for preparation of immobilized Lactobacillus acidophilus. All formulas were studied, from characterization, encapsulation yield, particle size measurement and mechanical stability of microcapsules in simulated gastric conditions which resulted that alginate – starch microcapsules gave the best results. based on this finding that starch – alginate can be used to protect living microbes, alginate starch microcapsules has been further studied for: efficacy of cell release, thermal stability ( refrigeration and shelf life ) which achieved good results. Finally the selected formula was added to standard anti- Helicobacter pylori therapy (triple therapy) in a parallel clinical study (42 patients) which showed that the addition of Lactobacillus acidophilus has a significant effect in increasing the eradication rate of Helicobacter pylori.