## 3 Results and Discussion  
Effect of Inulin, or Mucilage from Chia or Flax Seeds, and Inlet Air Temperature on the Survival of L. rhamnus after Spray Drying  
Prior to the encapsulation assay, CM and FM were characterized. The results showed that the main component of CM was the non-nitrogen extract (64.15%), followed by proteins (14.43%), lipids (1.07%), fiber (2.35%), and ash (12.18%), while the main component in FM was non-nitrogen extract (67.21%), followed by proteins (15.74%), lipids (0.55%), fiber (2.04%), and ash (9.11%). The effect of CM (0, 0.3, 0.6% w/v), FM (0, 0.1, 0.2% w/v), and INL (0, 5, 10% w/v) as a component of the encapsulating solution on the survival of _L. rhamnus_ after spray drying was tested at different inlet air temperatures (90, 110, and 130 \({}^{\circ}\)C). The RSM with a face-centered central composite design was used to determine the influence of the encapsulating agent and inlet air temperature on the survival of _L. rhamnus_ after spray drying; in Table 2, the results obtained in the nine drying runs for each encapsulating agent are shown. The viscosity is a relevant property for spray drying; when the solids content increases in the encapsulating solution, its viscosity increases, resulting in large droplet sizes, which demands higher inlet air temperatures, reducing the viability of probiotics. In this context, we carry out preliminary tests to determine the concentration of the encapsulating agent (CM and FM), allowing small drops to be produced during spraying. The results showed that the concentrations that make the difference in the production of small drops or larger ones were 0.6% (w/v) and 0.2% (w/v) for CM and FM, respectively. The INL (10%, w/v) concentration was selected to maintain the total solids content at 15% (w/v) in the encapsulation solution and the minimum concentration suggested by [PERSON] et al. [26]. The viscosity of the encapsulating solution increases when the concentration of the encapsulating agent is increased, such as in CM (3.21 and 37.78 mPa s for 0 and 0.6% w/v, respectively) and FM (2.36 and 6.22 mPa s for 0 and 0.2% w/v, respectively) (Table 2). The viscosity of the encapsulating solution with CM was significantly (\(p<0.05\)) higher compared to FM and INL. CM has a slimy mucilaginous character at low concentrations due to it being constituted mainly by carbohydrates such as D-xylose and \(\alpha\)-D-glucose, and 4-0-methyl-\(\alpha\)-D-glucuronic acid at a ratio of 2:1:1, respectively [50, 51]. Another study reported that the high viscosity of CM solution can be attributed to inter-molecular chain entanglement in the aqueous medium due to the presence of 4-O-methyl glucuronic acid substituent [56]. Moreover, the increase in viscosity attributed to the increase in the CM and FM concentration in the dispersion could be due to hydrodynamic forces and the formation of an interfacial film that produces an increased restriction of intermolecular motion [57]. The highest concentration of each encapsulating agent exhibited high probiotic survival when the lowest drying inlet air temperature (90 \({}^{\circ}\)C) was evaluated, 81% (INL, 10% w/v), 90% (CM, 0.6% w/v), and 83% (FM, 0.2% w/v) (treatment 7, 16, and 25, Table 2, respectively). Moreover, for each type and concentration of encapsulating agent, the survival of _L. rhamns_ significantly decreased as the drying inlet air temperature was increased from 90 to 130 \({}^{\circ}\)C. This fact can be explained by the loss of viability of _L. rhamns_ during convective thermal processing related to cellular lesions resulting from the combined effects of heat and mechanical stress [58]. In previous studies, we evaluated the effect of CM (0.2, 0.4 and 0.6%, w/v) as a component of the encapsulating solution on _L. acidophilus_ La-05 survival. The results showed a survival of 75.7% when _L. acidophilus_ La-05 was encapsulated with 0.6% CM and dried at 110 \({}^{\circ}\)C [22], a similar survival trend to that obtained in the present study.