Effect of the addition of water-soluble soybean extract and probiotic culture on chemical characteristics and folate concentration in yogurts produced with goats milk

Probiotics: mechanism of action, health benefits and their application in food industries

Probiotics, like lactic acid bacteria, are non-pathogenic microbes that exert health benefits to the host when administered in adequate quantity. Currently, research is being conducted on the molecular events and applications of probiotics. The suggested mechanisms by which probiotics exert their action include; competitive exclusion of pathogens for adhesion sites, improvement of the intestinal mucosal barrier, gut immunomodulation, and neurotransmitter synthesis. This review emphasizes the recent advances in the health benefits of probiotics and the emerging applications of probiotics in the food industry. Due to their capability to modulate gut microbiota and attenuate the immune system, probiotics could be used as an adjuvant in hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, cancer, and gastrointestinal diseases. Considering the functional properties, probiotics are being used in the dairy, beverage, and baking industries. After developing the latest techniques by researchers, probiotics can now survive within harsh processing conditions and withstand GI stresses quite effectively. Thus, the potential of probiotics can efficiently be utilized on a commercial scale in food processing industries.

Probiotics in Goat Milk Products: Delivery Capacity and Ability to Improve Sensory Attributes

Dairy foods, particularly those of bovine origin, are the predominant vehicles for delivery of probiotic bacteria. Caprine (goat) milk also possesses potential for successful delivery of probiotics, and despite its less appealing flavor in some products, the use of goat milk as a probiotic carrier has rapidly increased over the last decade. This review reports on the diversity, applicability, and potential of using probiotics to enhance the sensory properties of goat milk and goat milk-based products. A brief conceptual introduction to probiotic microorganisms is followed by an account of the unique physicochemical, nutritive, and beneficial aspects of goat milk, emphasizing its advantages as a probiotic carrier. The sensory properties of probiotic-enriched goat milk products are also discussed. The maintenance of probiotic viability and desirable physicochemical characteristics in goat milk products over shelf life is possible. However, the unpleasant sensory features of some goat milk products remain a major disadvantage that hinder its wider utilization. Nevertheless, certain measures such as fortification with selected probiotic strains, inclusion of fruit pulps and popular flavor compounds, and production of commonly consumed tailor-made goat milk-based products have potential to overcome this limitation. In particular, certain probiotic bacteria release volatile compounds as a result of their metabolism, which are known to play a major role in the aroma profile and sensory aspects of the final products.