Enhanced thermal stability of lactic acid bacteria during spray drying by intracellular accumulation of calcium

Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris and Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM were cultured in growth media supplemented with CaCl2 to induce intracellular accumulation of Ca2+. Both strains grown with 10 mM Ca2+ demonstrated enhanced thermal stability, with increased survival after spray drying from 49.9% to 64.9% for the coccus and from 35.5% to 43.3% for the rod. The increased intracellular Ca2+ level was confirmed with murexide assay. Adding Ca2+ in the reconstitution solution could not improve the viability of spray dried cells at extended storage stages. We hypothesized that the over-presence of intracellular Ca2+ might stimulate the activity of heat shock proteins, increasing cell survival towards heat stress. The positive effect of calcium partly explained the protective mechanism of some calcium-containing protectants. The reported approach, which improves the stress tolerance of cells, can be combined with the optimization of spray drying conditions and protectant formulation for developing a consolidated powder production scheme.