Probiotic Cultures as Functional Foods.
This review presents the definitions of probiotics and summarizes the fields of their applications and benefits, and highlights the need of more research to properly describe the severity of adverse events related to probiotics. Research identifying the mechanisms of action for probiotic function.
Probiotics can be defined as “a preparation of, or a product containing viable, defined microorganisms in sufficient numbers, which alter the microflora within a compartment of the host and thus exerting beneficial health effects in the host”. The definition proposed in the 2001 report of a Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) Expert Consultation on “Evaluation of Health and Nutritional Properties of Probiotics in Food including Powder Milk with Live Lactic Acid Bacteria” is probiotics are “live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host”
Innumerable products are available in the market that contain probiotic components and promote the presence of probiotic cultures in the food. Dairy products probably contain the greatest number of probiotic materials, and at the greatest level, that provide a peculiar flavor and an increase of shelf life. The fact that most people consume probiotic products without discrimination constitutes a special concern because in most cases people use these food products for medicinal purposes. Furthermore, others consume them for preventive reasons. The interest in this area is growing as well as studies of the safety and quality criteria of probiotics for human use.
Adv Food Technol Nutr Sci Open J. 2015; 1(6): 124-129. doi: 10.17140/AFTNSOJ-1-121
