*Article* **Blends of Carbohydrate Polymers for the Co-Microencapsulation of** *Bacillus clausii* **and Quercetin as Active Ingredients of a Functional Food**

**María Z. Saavedra-Leos <sup>1</sup> , Manuel Román-Aguirre <sup>2</sup> , Alberto Toxqui-Terán 3 , Vicente Espinosa-Solís 4 , Avelina Franco-Vega <sup>5</sup> and César Leyva-Porras 2,\***


**Abstract:** A functional food based on blends of carbohydrate polymers and active ingredients was prepared by spray drying. Inulin (IN) and maltodextrin (MX) were used as carrying agents to comicroencapsulate quercetin as an antioxidant and *Bacillus clausii* (Bc) as a probiotic. Through a reduced design of experiments, eleven runs were conducted and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC). The physical characterizations showed fine and non-aggregated powders, composed of pseudospherical particles with micrometric sizes. The observation of rod-like particles suggested that microorganisms were microencapsulated in these particles. The microstructure of the powders was amorphous, observing diffraction peaks attributed to the crystallization of the antioxidant. The glass transition temperature (Tg) of the blends was above the room temperature, which may promote a higher stability during storage. The antioxidant activity (AA) values increased for the IN-MX blends, while the viability of the microorganisms increased with the addition of MX. By a surface response plot (SRP) the yield showed a major dependency with the drying temperature and then with the concentration of IN. The work contributes to the use of carbohydrate polymers blends, and to the co-microencapsulation of active ingredients.

**Keywords:** carbohydrate polymers blends; functional food; antioxidant activity; co-microencapsulation; spray drying; bacteria viability (*Bacillus clausii*); probiotics
