Microencapsulation is one of the promising technologies to enhance the viability of probiotics microorganisms in functional foods. It also helps to extend the shelf life of many fermented food products. Lactic acid bacteria were microencapsulated within the concept of the immobilized cell technology (ICT) from many years for continuous fermentation processes and improved biomass production. But, these microcapsules are artificially created to support the growth of the probiotics and provide protection from harsh external environments. For microencapsulation of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, polysaccharides like alginate, gelan, carrageenan, chitosan and starch are the most commonly used materials. Emulsion, extrusion, spray drying, and adhesion to starch are some of the commonly applied methods for microencapsulation. However, there are still significant hurdles with respect to currently available methods for probiotic cell microencapsulation. This is mainly due to the fact that important characteristics of microcapsules based on ICT appear to be in conflict with the requirements arising from an application of probiotic microcapsules in food products, with particle size and inappropriate matrix characteristics being the most prominent ones. The aim of this review is to give a critical overview of the current approaches regarding the microencapsulation of probiotic microorganisms for food applications, especially in fermented milk products and to report on emerging developments.

Distillery spent wash is the unwanted residual liquid waste generated during alcohol production and the pollution caused by it has become a critical environmental issue. Despite standards imposed on effluent quality, untreated or partially treated effluent very often finds access to watercourses. The distillery wastewater with its characteristic unpleasant odour poses a serious threat to the water quality in several regions around the globe. In this study, experiments were carried out to investigate the production of biogas from distillery spent wash by using an anaerobic digestion process with Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR). The experiment was carried out to calculate the efficiency of the production of biogas. The digester was operated with feed of high Brix Spentwash. The digester shows stable performance with production of biogas.

Beetroot, a very nutritious vegetable, used for human consumption in raw and cooked form is also a potential source of saponins, betacyanines, betanin and polyphenols. Due to presence of betalains, the natural color pigments, beetroot is also used in food industry as source of natural color in various food products. Besides this, beetroot is also having therapeutic properties such as anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective and anti-mutagenic properties. Therefore, a functional lassi (stirred Indian yoghurt) supplemented with beetroot juice was developed in the present study. Beetroot with red bulb was procured from local market of mehsana, washed, peeled and shredded before subjecting it to blanching and roasting treatments. Based on sensory evaluation, the lassi supplemented with blanched juice got significantly higher (p<0.05) scores than the roasted one. Further, the physicochemical and anti-oxidative properties of the developed product were also evaluated and compared with control.

Probiotic potential of three cultures of Lactobacillus namely L.fermentum (M2), L.fermentum (M7) and L.paracasei (M11) were carried out by performing various in vitro tests such as bile salt hydrolase activity, bile salt deconjugation ability, cholesterol assimilation ability and antioxidative activity (ABTS method). M7 and M11 showed positive bile salt hydrolase activity. M2, M7 and M11 have the ability to deconjugate bile salt and M11 culture exhibited for the highest deconjugation of bile salt (616.25μg/mL). These three cultures were able to survive in MRS broth containing 0.2% sodium thioglycolate and 0.3% sodium taurocholate (conjugated bile salt). Antioxidant activity was also evaluated among these Lactobacillus cultures and found in the range of 46.55% to 78.66%. But, these three cultures were very poor to assimilate the cholesterol. This study indicated that L. paracasei (M11)was more potent than other cultures.