Microencapsulation of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum BXM2 in Bamboo Shoot-Derived Nanocellulose Hydrogel to Enhance Its Survivability

This study presents a novel approach for enhancing the survivability of <i>Lactiplantibacillus plantarum</i> BXM2 using bamboo shoot-derived nanocellulose hydrogels. Nanocellulose hydrogels, composed of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs), cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), were developed as protective matrices for probiotics. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the successful formation of hydrogen-bonded networks between PVA and nanocelluloses, while scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the ternary PVA-CNF-CNC hydrogel exhibited a dense, hierarchical porous structure, effectively encapsulating probiotics with an encapsulation efficiency of 92.56 ± 0.53%. Under simulated gastrointestinal digestion, the encapsulated probiotics maintained 8.04 log CFU/g viability, significantly higher than that of free bacteria (3.54 log CFU/mL). The hydrogel also enhanced heat tolerance (6.58 log CFU/mL at 70 °C) and freeze-drying survival (86.92% viability), outperforming binary systems. During 60-day storage at 4 °C and 25 °C, encapsulated probiotics retained viability above the critical threshold (≥6 log CFU/unit), whereas free cells declined rapidly. These findings highlight the potential of PVA-CNF-CNC hydrogel as an efficient delivery system to improve probiotic stability in food applications.