Vol. 12, Special Issue 9 (2023)

Spray dried millet mix was prepared with incorporation of encapsulated probiotic viz. Lactobacillus plantarum NCDC LP 20. Pearl millet and foxtail millet were used for making malted millet mix beverage. Sodium alginate, skim milk powder, whey protein concentrate, cocoa powder and maltodextrin were used in different combinations as wall material for encapsulating the probiotic bacterium. Sodium alginate and cocoa powder at 1:1 ratio yielded the maximum encapsulation efficiency of 90%. The encapsulated probiotic is incorporated into the millet mix beverage for spray drying. The optimized combination of millet mix was arrived based on the sensory scores from 15 semi trained panel members on 9-point hedonic scale and the combination containing sodium alginate and cocoa powder at 1:1 ratio top scored among the four treatments. Response surface methodology was used to optimize the conditions for spray drying process with inlet temperature at 171 ºC, feed flow rate 237ml/hr and proportion of sodium alginate and cocoa powder at 1:0.8.