Probiotic foods for human health: A review

Abstract

Probiotic foods are the leading components of functional food sector. Probiotic organisms are known for their several health beneficial abilities. Fermented dairy products are the most preferred traditional matrix for probiotic, but increasingly, other products are being used as the probiotics delivery vehicle. Composite foods are the relatively uncommon matrix for probiotic. Combination of milk and cereal can provide better nutrition to mankind with higher growth of the probiotic organism. Composite probiotic products may lead to product diversification with improved nutrition at a lower cost. However, the sensory acceptability of these types of food products remains to be a major problem. Further, Probiotic composite dairy products are not systematically evaluated for their health beneficial properties in animal and human model. Systematic and in-depth study is required in this field.