Microsoft Word - 1 Acta TA 8_4_ 2009

Background. Drying is the oldest method of food preservation. It works by removing water from the food, which prevents the growth of microorganisms and decay. Moreover, spray or freeze drying is also used for the preservation of probiotic cultures. The aim of this study was to compare a survival rate of probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus rhamnosus during spray and freeze drying in ATPS. These results were also compared with survival rate of cells dried under the same conditions but suspended only in skim milk, 6% solution of PVP or 6% solution of dextran. Material and methods. The bacteria Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG were suspended and spray or freeze dried in various types of aqueous two-phase emulsions: PVP/dextran, PEG4000/dextran and PEG8000/dextran. These emulsions consisted of different types of polymers and had varying ratio of polymers in dispersed (dextran) and dispersing (PEG and PVP) phases. Results. The research demonstrated that survival rate of bacteria directly after drying depended mainly on protective reagent, rather than on drying method. After 30-day-storage of the dried bacteria cell specimens, the highest survival rate was noted in case of freeze dried cells in milk. In case of spray drying the highest cell survival rate was observed when emulsion PVP3.6%/dextran2.4% was used as a drying medium. Conclusions. Finally, it has been found that cell survival rate was not strongly influenced by the storage temperature of the powder but it depended on the drying medium.