Food-based probiotics: Functional dietary ingredients

ABSTRACT

Probiotics are included in the group of health promoting functional foods that promotes good gut health through the supply of essential metabolites with therapeutic characteristics. Promoting a healthy digestive tract and a healthy immune system are their most widely studied benefits of late. A series of food and pharmaceutical products have drawn the attention and interest of consumers due to their exclusive health benefits. Therefore, food-based probiotics are gaining popularity in the recent years, even though there is an increase in commercially available probiotic supplements. Probiotics can be naturally found in some food groups, whereas, the other food groups can act as a vehicle for probiotics. One of the most abundant sources of probiotics is the group of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), which plays an important role in preventing intestinal problems. Under certain stress conditions, intestinal microbiota may be altered manifesting in gut disorders. Probiotic bacteria stimulate the growth of indigenous beneficial gut microbiota by inhibiting the growth of opportunistic pathogenic microbes. These are also commonly known as healthy bacteria which are obtained from food, beverages and dietary supplements. Thus, this chapter will focus on the probiotics naturally occurring across different food groups of the food pyramid, and also their potential in fermented food products for healthy diets. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.