Abstract

STUDY ON PHYCOCYANIN PACKAGING ABILITY USING LACTOBACILLUS ACIDOPHILUS ATCC 4356

Bao Phan and Tu Nguyen*

ABSTRACT

Phycocyanin has been extensively researched for its potential in promoting human health for anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, immune enhancement, anti-cancer activities although its current application is limited. To increase bioavailability, phycocyanin was studied for the packing with minicells. Minicells were created by incubating Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 4356 in MRS modified with 1% fructose for 37 hours. These minicells were then separated from parent cells through centrifugation and stored in phosphate buffer saline at 4°C to prevent cell damage. Phycocyanin was fully dissolved and incubated with isolated minicells in phosphate buffer saline at pH = 7 and maintained at 4°C for various durations ranging from 30 minutes to 12 hours. Subsequently, the phycocyanin-loaded minicells were separated from the solution by high-speed centrifugation, and the
supernatant of each duration was scanned using a spectrophotometer to identify the phycocyanin peak and determine the amount of phycocyanin loaded into the minicell which exhibited maximum efficacy as well. In conclusion, phycocyanin could be packed with bacterial minicells.

Keywords: Lactobacillus acidophilus, minicells, phycocyanin, packing phycocyanin.