Search

The consumption of probiotic foods is rather limited for many sectors of the population (vegans, lactose intolerant and celiacs). Therefore, it is necessary to offer functional alternatives for these sectors. Different red quinoa drinks were fermented with L. plantarum (QLPBB) and B. longum (QBLBB) at different times. Results showed that microbial concentration reached high levels (6-8 Log CFU/mL) after 6 h and probiotic viability was very high (6 Log CFU/mL) after gastrointestinal digestion (GD). However, QBLBB reached the best probiotic concentration at 24 h. From 6 h of fermentation, probiotic resistance to some antibiotics, especially B. longum , could have a great potential to restore the intestinal microbiota during and after treatment with certain antibiotics. QLPBB showed the highest levels of total polyphenols and antioxidant capacity (AOC) after GD. Therefore, these red quinoa drinks have potential as functional probiotic beverages for vegans, celiacs and allergic to milk protein and lactose-intolerant people.

In alignment with Hippocrates' aphorisms "Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food" and "All diseases begin in the gut", recent studies have suggested that healthy diets should include fermented foods to temporally enhance live microorganisms in our gut. As a result, consumers are now demanding this type of food and fermented food has gained popularity. However, certain sectors of population, such as those allergic to milk proteins, lactose intolerant and strict vegetarians, cannot consume dairy products. Therefore, a need has arisen in order to offer consumers an alternative to fermented dairy products by exploring new non-dairy matrices as probiotics carriers. Accordingly, this review aims to explore the benefits of different fermented non-dairy beverages (legume, cereal, pseudocereal, fruit and vegetable), as potential carriers of bioactive compounds (generated during the fermentation process), prebiotics and different probiotic bacteria, providing protection to ensure that their viability is in the range of 10 6 -10 7 CFU/mL at the consumption time, in order that they reach the intestine in high amounts and improve human health through modulation of the gut microbiome., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

This study investigates the influence of tomato and feijoa juices as fermentable carriers of Lactobacillus plantarum (LP DSM20205) on the ability of the bacterium to improve intestinal barrier function using the trans-epithelial electrical resistance (TEER) assay in an apical anaerobic model. The survival of LP DSM20205 in different fruit juices during in vitro digestion, its adhesion capacity, and potential cytotoxic effect on Caco-2 cells were also studied. The results showed that carrier fruit juices have a significant influence on LP DSM20205 growth, survival during in vitro digestion, adhesion capacity, and TEER. All fermented samples were not cytotoxic to Caco-2 cells. The fermented tomato juice showed the largest improvement to intestinal barrier integrity. The digested fermented juices did not increase TEER, although the LP DSM20205 in these samples adhered well. Therefore, LP DSM20205 has the potential to be used as a probiotic in the production of fermented tomato and feijoa juices.