Abstract
The probiotic products in the market are mostly milk-based products, such as yoghurts, cheese and fermented milk. However, lately, there has been an increasing demand for non-dairy probiotic products due to various reasons such as allergies, lactose intolerance, high cholesterol content and consumers turning to more natural foods. Fruit juices are considered as an appropriate new substrate for probiotic delivery. From these, pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is gaining more attention in recent years. Pomegranate is a fruit known since ancient times for its therapeutic qualities, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral and antitumor properties, among others. Pomegranate juice contains a range of bioactive compounds such as phytochemicals, like polyphenols, ellagitannins, anthocyanins and punicalagins. The fermentation of the juice with probiotic strains seems to provide beverages of high nutritional values and accepted organoleptic quality. Therefore, the aim of this comprehensive review is to present an overview of the innovative in vitro and in vivo assays that have taken place regarding fermentation of pomegranate juice by probiotic bacteria. In addition, various drawbacks are underlined and solutions are proposed and discussed regarding the feasibility of pomegranate juice as an alternative substrate for probiotic delivery.
Highlights
Increased consumer concern about safer and more beneficial food for humans has boosted the demand for the production of functional foods and beverages
The results demonstrated that L. plantarum and L. delbrueckii had higher viability levels during fermentation and storage time compared to the other lactic acid bacteria (LAB) (2.8 × 105 cfu/mL and 1.5 × 105 cfu/mL after the second week of storage, respectively)
Various organic acids were detected, including formic acid, oxalic acid, tartaric acid, gallic acid, citric acid, vanillic acid, malic acid. These results indicate high antioxidant, antibacterial, and antitumor activities as well as polyphenol content for the pomegranate juice produced with fermentation with co-culture of the two probiotic strains
Summary
Increased consumer concern about safer and more beneficial food for humans has boosted the demand for the production of functional foods and beverages. Functional beverages are considered as a fast-growing category of functional foods that includes juices enriched with herbs, vitamins, aminoacids or/and vegetables. Their health benefits are numerous and namely include anti-inflammatory, anti-hypertensive [2], antitumor [3], antibacterial, antiviral and antioxidant activities [4]. The main advantage of their development is to help probiotics to overcome possible survival difficulties in the host [7] Several products of this category have been launched in markets with promising results, such as Raftiloses P95 in combination with L. rhamnosus, Bifidobacterium spp., L. acidophilus and L. casei, and others [10,11]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
