Abstract
Preserving the efficacy of probiotic bacteria exhibits paramount challenges that need to be addressed during the development of functional food products. Several factors have been claimed to be responsible for reducing the viability of probiotics including matrix acidity, level of oxygen in products, presence of other lactic acid bacteria, and sensitivity to metabolites produced by other competing bacteria. Several approaches are undertaken to improve and sustain microbial cell viability, like strain selection, immobilization technologies, synbiotics development etc. Among them, cell immobilization in various carriers, including composite carrier matrix systems has recently attracted interest targeting to protect probiotics from different types of environmental stress (e.g., pH and heat treatments). Likewise, to successfully deliver the probiotics in the large intestine, cells must survive food processing and storage, and withstand the stress conditions encountered in the upper gastrointestinal tract. Hence, the appropriate selection of probiotics and their effective delivery remains a technological challenge with special focus on sustaining the viability of the probiotic culture in the formulated product. Development of synbiotic combinations exhibits another approach of functional food to stimulate the growth of probiotics. The aim of the current review is to summarize the strategies and the novel techniques adopted to enhance the viability of probiotics.
Highlights
Agricultural and food industry are constantly evolving entailing innovation phenomena that generate constant research and emerging technologies
Several systems have been developed for the delivery of probiotics to the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) such as disease, whereby it was proposed that application of F. prausnitzii as a probiotic could modulate pharmaceutical formulations and food-based products
Viability functionality of probiotics as it relates with consumers health-promoting properties, it constitutes an industrial challenge
Summary
Agricultural and food industry are constantly evolving entailing innovation phenomena that generate constant research and emerging technologies. The key for successful marketing and acceptance of novel foods depends on the concept of food quality throughout the chain and to added value food functionalities [4] These novel functional food products are either natural or processed foods that have been fortified with active compounds of known biological activity. The inclusion of probiotics into a food matrix poses several technological challenges that need to be addressed [24] These bacteria encounter a variety of stress factors, including temperature, acid and bile, increased concentration of certain ions or nutrient depletion, exposure to osmotic and oxidative stress in product matrices along with passage through the gastrointestinal transit that may detrimentally affect their viability and their functionality. It is essential, that the incorporation of a probiotic culture does not affect adversely the sensory and other quality characteristics of the product [25,26]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
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 call
