Co-encapsulation of probiotics with functional components: design strategies, synergistic mechanisms, biomedical applications, and challenges for industrialization

Abstract

Chronic diseases such as depression, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and colorectal cancer are closely associated with gut microbiota dysbiosis and impaired intestinal barrier function. Probiotic supplementation represents an effective therapeutic approach for modulating gut microecology and alleviating disease symptoms. However, their limited survival rates and colonization efficiency in the gastrointestinal tract compromise their functional efficacy. Co-encapsulation of probiotics with functional components is an effective approach to enhance stability and has gradually become a major focus in current delivery system research. This review summarizes the co-encapsulation strategies of probiotics with functional components, including metabolites, prebiotics, and polyphenols. It also examines the applications of advanced manufacturing technologies such as microfluidics, 3D printing, layer-by-layer encapsulation, and electrospinning/electrospraying in this field. Through functional evaluation methods, including ex vivo gastrointestinal models, in vivo imaging, and metabolic tracking, the advantages of co-encapsulation in improving probiotic survival rates, targeted release capabilities, and functional stability have been demonstrated. Furthermore, this review explores the application potential of co-encapsulation in chronic disease intervention and identifies the challenges that remain in industrial scale-up, safety standardization, and clinical translation. This review aims to provide a scientific foundation for the clinical translation and industrial application of probiotic co-encapsulation technologies.