Fig. 2.

Viability of L. plantarum entrapped in uncoated and chitosan-coated gel particles, prepared by mixing and autoclaving 3% agar and 4% gelatin solutions, during incubation in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) for 2 h (a) and simulated intestinal fluid (SIF) for 3 h (b). Results are expressed as mean ± standard deviation (n = 3). No viable cells were detected in SGF after 2 h for uncoated gel particles (cell concentration < 2 log CFU/mL). * indicates significant difference (P ˂ 0.05) compared with the starting point (time 0)