Evaluation of microencapsulation impact on akkermansia muciniphila’ culturability during freeze-drying, storage under different temperatures and atmospheric conditions, and in vitro gastrointestinal passage

With the surge of next-generation technologies the scientific community awareness to gut ecosystem importance on human health has been increasing. In the context of inflammatory and cardiometabolic disorders, which have major clinical/economic impact [1], the gut resident Akkermansia muciniphila emerges as a next-generation probiotic, due to its potential in their prevention/treatment [2][3]. However, the high sensitivity to acidic conditions and its aerotolerant metabolism hampers functional foods/nutraceuticals development [4]. To overcome such challenges, a combination of two cryoprotective agents was evaluated on the protection of microencapsulated A. muciniphila when exposed to detrimental conditions.