Public Funding for Winemak-In Ltd

This project followed on from a previous TSB project that investigated the optimisation and stabilisation of probiotic material for incorporation into a capsule format. This project aims to build on this and develop a process to microencapsulate probiotic bacteria, allowing the delivery of a defined number of bacteria to the desired point of absorption, which is palatable to the consumer (e.g. less than 80 micron).The microencapsulation process developed must also stabilise the bacteria for long term storage as well as protect the microcapsule during ingestion and rehydration in the gut. In this project the partners involved have managed to (i) develop a capsule core (Bacteria/BAR) to hold and protect the bacteria during rehydration in the gut (ii) identify cost effective drying technologies based on bacteria survival and yield (iii) develop and apply enteric coating to protect the core (iv) demonstrate integrity of microcapsule to resist moisture ingress (v) demonstrate survival of bacteria against bile acid (control point of release) (vi) demonstrate long term stability (ambient supply), as well as producing process that can be scaled up.

Awaiting Public Summary