Importance of food in probiotic efficacy

Foods are carriers for the delivery of probiotics to the human body. In addition, foods help to buffer the probiotic through the gastrointestinal tract, regulate their colonization and contain other functional ingredients, such as bioactive components, which may interact with probiotics to alter their functionality and efficacy. The growth and survival of probiotics during gastric transit is affected by the physico-chemical properties of food carriers. Gastric acid, juices and bile tolerance, adherence to gastrointestinal epithelium and the acid production of probiotics are also affected by the food ingredients used in probiotic delivery. Same probiotic strains could vary in functional and technological properties in the presence of different food ingredients. Prebiotic food ingredients encourage the growth of probiotic bacteria. The appropriate combination of prebiotics and probiotics manifest higher potential for a synergistic effect. Originally, probiotic delivery was consistently associated with foods, particularly dairy foods. But nowadays, there is an increasing trend toward using probiotics in different food systems despite its original sources and even as nutraceuticals, such as in capsules. This changing trend in delivering probiotics may lead to a reduction in functional efficacy due to the exclusion of the potential synergistic effect of the food. Thus, selection of suitable food systems to deliver probiotics is a vital factor that should be considered in developing functional probiotic foods. This review focuses on information related to the effect of processed food products on functional efficacy of probiotics.     

Non-dairy probiotic food products: An emerging group of functional foods

ABSTRACT

The functional food sector has shown tremendous growth in recent years with the application of probiotic bacteria as “food additives”. The utilization of probiotic bacteria in food presents many challenges related to their growth, survival, viability, stability and functionality in food processing, storage and consumption as well as changes of sensory characteristics of probiotic foods. Although dairy foods are currently the most common food carrier to deliver probiotics, an increasing number of non-dairy food matrices exhibit potential for delivery of probiotics. This review provides more recent insight into the emergence of non-dairy probiotics products, the interactions between probiotics and different food matrices and the challenges in developing such products. Some of the technical issues are also reviewed and discussed. These issues include the efficacy of probiotic bacteria in non-chilled, low pH or high water activity foods; the potential loss of bacterial viability, additionally unwanted fermentation and changes of the sensory characteristics of food products which may result in poor microbiological quality and low acceptability to consumers.     

Encapsulation of probiotic living cells: From laboratory scale to industrial applications

In the recent past, there has been a rising interest in producing functional foods containing encapsulated probiotic bacteria. According to their perceived health benefits, probiotics have been incorporated into a range of dairy products but the major current challenge is to market new probiotic foods. In the research sector, many studies have been reported using dairy products like cheese, yogurt and ice cream as food carrier, and non-dairy products like meat, fruits, cereals, chocolate, etc. However, in the commercial sector only few products containing encapsulated probiotic cells can be found. Nutraceuticals are another important vector for probiotics already developed by several companies in a capsule or a tablet form. The review compiles the technologies used to encapsulate the cells in order to keep them alive and the food matrices used in the research and commercial sector for delivery to the consumer.     

Functional Foods and Nondairy Probiotic Food Development: Trends,Concepts, and Products

ABSTRACT: Recently, the focus of scientific investigations has moved from the primary role of food as the source of energy and body‐forming substances to the more subtle action of biologically active food components on human health. There has been an explosion of consumer interest in the active role of food in the well‐being and life prolongation, as well as in the prevention of initiation, promotion, and development of nontransmissible chronic diseases. As a result, a new term—functional food—was proposed. Among these foods, probiotics may exert positive effects on the composition of gut microbiota and overall health, and the market is increasing annually. An increased demand for nondairy probiotic products comes from vegetarianism, milk cholesterol content, and lactose intolerance. Therefore, the development of these products is a key research priority for food design and a challenge for both industry and science sectors. This article presents an overview of functional food development, emphasizing nondairy foods that contain probiotic bacteria strains.     

Probiotics and prebiotics--perspectives and challenges

Owing to their health benefits, probiotics and prebiotics are nowadays widely used in yogurts and fermented milks, which are leader products of functional foods worldwide. The world market for functional foods has grown rapidly in the last three decades, with an estimated size in 2003 of ca US$ 33 billion, while the European market estimation exceeded US$ 2 billion in the same year. However, the production of probiotics and prebiotics at industrial scale faces several challenges, including the search for economical and abundant raw materials for prebiotic production, the low-cost production of probiotics and the improvement of probiotic viability after storage or during the manufacturing process of the functional food. In this review, functional foods based on probiotics and prebiotics are introduced as a key biotechnological field with tremendous potential for innovation. A concise state of the art addressing the fundamentals and challenges for the development of new probiotic- and prebiotic-based foods is presented, the niches for future research being clearly identified and discussed.     

Nonbovine milk and its products as sources of probiotics delivery: An overview of its viability,functionality and product quality characteristics

Dairy products are the most predominant food carriers for probiotics, providing adequate therapeutic and functional benefits to the host when sufficient probiotics are maintained. Bovine milk currently dominates the global probiotic food market, but there is an increasing trend of applying nonbovine milk from other dairy animals as probiotic carrier food matrices as described in this review. Nonbovine dairy products can be considered suitable food matrices for probiotic delivery due to their excellent probiotic viability (mostly >log 7 cfu/mL or g) during shelf life, functional properties and product quality characteristics, being considered desirable and novel dairy products.     

Bacterial survival and adhesion for formulating new oral probiotic foods

Abstract

Probiotics are defined as live microorganisms, which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer health benefits to the host. Traditionally, probiotic food research has heavily focused on the genera Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli, along with their benefits for gut health. Recently with the identification of new probiotic strains specifically intended for oral health applications, the development of probiotic foods for oral health benefits has garnered interest, with a renewed focus on identifying new food formats for delivering probiotics. The development of novel oral probiotic foods is highly complex, as the composition of a food matrix dictates: (1) bacterial viability during production and shelf life and (2) how bacteria partition with components within a food matrix and subsequently adhere to oral cavity surfaces. At present, virtually no information is available on oral probiotic strains such as Streptococcus salivarius; specifically, how orally-derived strains survive under different food parameters. Furthermore, limited information exists on the partition behavior of probiotics with food components, governed by physico-chemical interactions and adhesion phenomena. This review aspires to examine this framework by providing a foundation with existing literature related to the common probiotic genera, in order to inform and drive future attempts of designing new oral probiotic food formats.     

Functional foods as carriers for SYNBIO®, a probiotic bacteria combination

The popularity of functional foods continues to increase as consumers desire flavorful foods that will fulfil their health needs. Among these foods, probiotics may exert positive effects on the composition of gut microbiota and overall health. However, in order to be beneficial, the bacterial cultures have to remain live and active at the time of consumption. The aim of this study was to develop new probiotic food products, such as seasoned cheeses, salami, chocolate and ice-cream with a final probiotic concentration of approximately 10?CFU/daily dose of Lactobacillus rhamnosus IMC 501? and Lactobacillus paracasei IMC 502? mixed 1:1 (SYNBIO?). The survival and viability of probiotics were determined during the foods shelf-life. The values of viable probiotic bacteria of all dairy and non-dairy foods were between 10? and 10?CFU/g of food at the end of the shelf-life and for some of them the values were maintained even after the expiry date. Based on the results of the current study, all the dairy ("Caciotta" cheese, "Pecorino" cheese, "Büscion" Swiss cheese and "Fiordilatte" ice-cream) and non-dairy ("Ciauscolo" salami, Larded salami, Swiss small salami, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, organic jam and chocolate mousse) food products studied would be excellent vehicles to deliver the probiotic health effects because of the high viability of probiotics during the shelf-life of foods and in some cases even after their expiry date.     

日本益生菌、益生元市场与应用概况

为了大力推广益生菌和益生元,介绍了日本益生菌制品、益生元、灭活细胞粉及对它们的管理情况。其中,日本厚生劳动省批准了65种特定保健食品,允许使用了近20种菌株．同时,各种功能性低聚糖已广泛使用在400多种食品、保健食品以及宠物饲料中,并说明了除益生菌活菌体外,益生菌或肠道正常菌群的灭活细胞,在大量存在下也可和活菌体一样具有免疫增强作用和发挥益生元的功能的作用。     

Probiotic fermentation of plant based products: possibilities and opportunities

Functional foods are claimed to have several health-specific advantages. In addition to their basic nutritive value, they contain a proper balance of ingredients which help in the prevention and treatment of illnesses and diseases. Within this category, products containing lactic acid bacteria or probiotics are increasingly gaining importance. The recognition of the beneficial effects of dairy products containing probiotics has been well established. The allergy to dairy products, lactose intolerance, and cholesterol content are the major drawbacks related to the use of fermented dairy products for a large percentage of consumers. Modern consumers are increasingly interested in their personal health, and expect the food that they eat to be healthy or even capable of preventing illness. Because of this, probiotic food products made out of fermentation of cereals and fruits and vegetables is receiving attention from the scientific world as well as consumers and constitutes the major part of this review. The use of mathematical models for the probiotic fermentation will help in reducing the time and effort involved in the optimization of the probiotic fermentation process. We have tried to summarize the developments in the use of mathematical models for probiotic fermentation. Future technological prospects exist in innovations which represent solutions for the stability and viability problems of probiotics in new food environments. Current research on novel probiotic formulations and microencapsulation technologies exploiting biological carrier and barrier materials has also been discussed.     

Probiotication of foods: A focus on microencapsulation tool

BackgroundWith almost thirty years of application in field of probiotics, microencapsulation is becoming an important technology for sustaining cell viability during food production, storage and consumption as well as for the development of new probiotic food carriers. Potentiality of microcapsules in protecting probiotics along human digestive tract seems to be well established. Instead, the inclusion of probiotics into foods, also in microencapsulated form, poses still many challenges for the retention of their viability, being food intrinsic and extrinsic factors crucial for this item.Scope and approachWe collect the relevant literature concerning the use of microencapsulation for the inclusion of probiotics in traditional food vehicles such as milk derivatives and in novel food carriers that were grouped in bakery, meat, fruit and vegetable. Furthermore we intent to highlight within different food categories the main factors that act in challenging probiotics viability and functionality. What we aim is to establish how microencapsulation is effectively promising in the research and development of innovative probiotic foods.Key findings and conclusionsDespite the relevant improvements toward the broadening of probiotic food products and categories, additional efforts have to be attempted. For this purpose, development of easy to use, stable and cheap probiotic microcapsules could be an important key for industrial spreading of microcapsules. Also the monitoring of cell stability along the entire food production including a real storage period as well as the assessment of encapsulated probiotic metabolism are some topics that require additional investigations.     

Meat as a functional food with special reference to probiotic sausages

Consumers believe that foods are associated directly to their health. Today foods are not only used to satisfy our hunger but also to provide indispensible nutrients for humans and these nutrients having the health benefits regarding in controlling the diseases. The market for functional foods has seen a sharp rise in demand in the recent years. This has driven researchers to multiply their efforts in producing functional meat products also. Feed manipulation and post-mortem modification of meat coupled with enrichment of bioactive compounds are gaining importance. This review discusses the candidate ingredients and strategies, utilized in crafting such functional meat products, and the notable developments and commercial successes in functional meat industry. Dry fermented sausages meet the conditions required to carry viable probiotic microbes. This article enlists various microorganisms that are being commercially used in functional food products and potential bacteria for probiotic sausage production.     

后生元的研究进展

后生元指益生菌在发酵过程中产生的对健康有益的生物活性化合物（包括益生菌代谢物、细胞组分,或它们的混合物）,如短链脂肪酸(short chain fatty acids, SCFA)、色胺、肽、磷壁酸、肽聚糖、多糖、有机酸和脂质等。通过重点对后生元的产生途径、生产菌、生物活性、潜在作用机制以及其在食品中的应用前景概述表明,与益生菌相比,后生元具有化学结构清晰、安全剂量高、保质期长等优点;后生元具有抗炎、抑菌、免疫调节、抗氧化、抗肥胖、抗高血压、降血脂、保肝、促进伤口愈合等生物活性,在开发新型健康功能食品方面具有广阔前景,但其生理作用确切的机制尚未完全阐明。     

Influence of malting and lactic acid fermentation on functional bioactive components in cereal‐based raw materials: a review paper

Driven by increased health awareness among consumers, the production of foods and beverages enriched with functional bioactive components is gaining more attention. Malting and lactic acid fermentation are biotechnological processes having potential for producing functional foods and beverages. Due to various biochemical and enzymatic induced changes in raw materials, malting of cereal grains and probiotic lactic acid fermentation of plant‐based media increases the nutritional quality of treated raw materials. The improved nutritional quality is attributed to the accumulation of functional bioactive components along with the degradation of anti‐nutritional components. The selection of raw materials and process parameters are important factors to be considered for increasing the functional bioactive components such as dietary fibres, antioxidants and probiotics. This review article reports the current knowledge on the changes of bioactive components during malting and lactic acid fermentation using probiotic bacterial strains. Process parameters which affect the concentration of bioactive components in raw materials will also be described.     

Review Article: Technological Aspects of Prebiotics in Probiotic Fermented Milks

Prebiotics are food components that exert beneficial effects on health of the host, associated with modulation of the intestinal flora via stimulating the growth and/or activity of the probiotics. One of the recommended ways to maintain high viable numbers of probiotic bacteria in the intestine as well as in the probiotic fermented milk products until the time of consumption is via the use of prebiotics. These compounds can also affect sensory profile, physicochemical and rheological characteristics, and economic properties of probiotic fermented milk products. In this article, technological aspects of prebiotics (viability of probiotics in the product as well as the physicochemical, rheological, sensory, and economic characteristics of product) in probiotic fermented milks are reviewed.     

Probiotics,prebiotics, and microencapsulation: A review

The development of a suitable technology for the production of probiotics is a key research for industrial production, which should take into account the viability and the stability of the organisms involved. Microbial criteria, stress tolerance during processing, and storage of the product constitute the basis for the production of probiotics. Generally, the bacteria belonging to the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium have been used as probiotics. Based on their positive qualities, probiotic bacteria are widely used in the production of food. Interest in the incorporation of the probiotic bacteria into other products apart from dairy products has been increasing and represents a great challenge. The recognition of dose delivery systems for probiotic bacteria has also resulted in research efforts aimed at developing probiotic food outside the dairy sector. Producing probiotic juices has been considered more in the recent years, due to an increased concern in personal health of consumers. This review focuses on probiotics, prebiotics, and the microencapsulation of living cells.     

益生菌食品的开发

<正>在健康成人肠道内栖息的细菌种类约有100多种,达100兆个以上,如把这些细菌换算成重量,大约有1,000克重。     

Invited review: Potential antiobesity effect of fermented dairy products

The growing prevalence of obesity affects millions of people around the world and has gained increased attention over the years because it is associated with the development of other chronic degenerative diseases. Different organizations recommend lifestyle changes to treat obesity; nevertheless, other strategies in addition to lifestyle changes have recently been suggested. One of these strategies is the use of probiotics in fermented dairy products; however, a need exists to review the different studies available related to the potential antiobesity effect of these products. Because probiotic fermented dairy products that support weight management are not available in the market, there is a great opportunity for the development of functional dairy products with new lactic acid bacteria that may present this added health benefit. Thus, the purpose of this overview is to highlight the importance of probiotic fermented dairy products as potential antiobesogenic functional foods and present in vitro and in vivo studies required before this kind of product may be introduced to the market. Overall, most studies attributed the antiobesity effect of fermented dairy foods to the probiotic strains present; however, bioactive peptides released during milk fermentation may also be responsible for this effect.     

Functional cultures and health benefits

A number of health benefits have been claimed for probiotic bacteria such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium spp., and L. casei. These benefits include antimutagenic effects, anticarcinogenic properties, improvement in lactose metabolism, reduction in serum cholesterol, and immune system stimulation. Because of the potential health benefits, these organisms are increasingly being incorporated into dairy foods, particularly yoghurt. In addition to yoghurt, fermented functional foods with health benefits based on bioactive peptides released by probiotic organisms, including Evolus^® and Calpis^®, have been introduced in the market. To maximize effectiveness of bifidus products, prebiotics are used in probiotic foods. Synbiotics are products that contain both prebiotics and probiotics.     

Non-dairy probiotic products

There is evidence documenting the beneficial health effects of probiotic microorganisms. Also, many studies have reported that the best matrices to deliver probiotic are dairy fermented products. However, recently several raw materials have been extensively investigated to determine if they are suitable substrates to produce novel non-dairy probiotic microorganisms, and it has been found that traditional fermented foods may contain viable probiotic microorganisms. Numerous such examples can be found in the text. Therefore, the aim of this review was to investigate the utilization of probiotics in new and traditional non-dairy products with probiotic potential. It was found that while cereals have been extensively investigated to develop new probiotic foods; further research about the probiotic beneficial effects of traditional fermented products is needed.