A concise review of fermented traditional turkish probiotic beverages

Abstract

The fact that foods can supply additional medicinal benefits beyond basic nutritional needs or energy requirement for survival, has been scientifically proven through rigorous researches over the years. Although Turkey is the ancient home of a good number of probiotic beverages, there is still very little awareness amongst the general populace about the existence of these medicinal beverages otherwise known as functional foods in their surroundings. Hence, this paper reviews probiotics as a top-notch functional food variety, their history and established beneficial effects of some named probiotics on human health. Greater emphasis is placed on elucidating scientific data regarding seven fermented traditional Turkish probiotic beverages namely kefir, ayran, boza, hardaliye, shalgam, gilaburu juice, and koumiss. The review concisely describes their major characteristics, production techniques, probiotic microbiota composition, as well as their known health benefits.