ABSTRACT
Probiotics, live microbes, exert tremendous beneficial health effects on the host organism. Despite the multiple functions exhibited by them, the maintenance of the cell viability in probiotic-containing products is still a considerable challenge. Further, the factors that act as constraints to their absorption involve reduced bioavailability, stability, and permeability across the gastrointestinal tract. These limitations result in minimal or almost no biological activity. Thus, to overcome these issues, technology based on encapsulation of nutraceuticals has been used. Apart from microencapsulation, nanoencapsulation has been attempted for efficient delivery of probiotic bacteria. Nanoformulations such as nanoparticles, nanofibres, nanobeads, nanolayers based on layer-by-layer approach, and nanoemulsions have been devised and explored so far to encapsulate the probiotic bacteria. These nanosized formulations improvise the functionality, bioavailability, stability, and viability of encapsulated bacteria. Thus, this book chapter has been compiled to explore the nanonization of probiotics and the utility of nanoprobiotics in the delivery of encapsulated bacteria. The developmental issues, safety, and regulatory aspects have also been discussed to depict the potentiality of nanoprobiotics.
