Survival of free and alginate-based microencapsulated Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and Pediococcus parvulus in sauerkraut

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of alginate and inulin-based microencapsulation on the viability of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum HL4 and Pediococcus parvulus HL14 in sauerkraut. Sauerkraut maintianed the desired microencapsulated cell count ( >6 log CFU/g) until the sixth week of storage. At the end of storage, MSL (samples containing L. plantarum HL4) had the highest total phenolic content (2536.50 mg GAE/L). However, at the end of storage, MSL and MSP (samples containing P. parvulus HL14) showed the highest DPPH value of 71.67% and 62.26% and ABTS( +) value of 95.68% and 94.08%, respectively. The highest general assessment scores were achieved by samples containing L. plantarum HL4 and P. parvulus HL14. Consequently, the microcapsules demonstrated a protective effect on the strains, particularly P. parvulus . Furthermore, the strains have a high potential for sauerkraut production enriched with presumptive probiotics, and the final product could be acceptable to consumers.