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Functional Food
Dairy Probiotics
A Best Source of Functional Foods
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robiotics, often called ‘good’ or ‘helpful’ bacteria, are defined as the living microorganisms administered in a sufficient number to survive in the intestinal ecosystem. They must have a positive effect on the host. The term probiotic was first used in 1965 to describe the substances secreted by one microorganism that stimulate the growth of another. A powerful evolution of this definition was coined in 1974, it proposed that probiotics are organisms and substances which contribute to intestinal microbial balance. In 1998 probiotics were defined as the food which contains live bacteria beneficial to health”, whereas in 2001 it was defined as microbial cell preparations or components of microbial cells that have a beneficial effect on the health and well-being.
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The term ‘functional food’ itself was first used in Japan, in the 1980s, for food products fortified with special constituents that possess advantageous physiological effects. Functional foods may improve the general conditions of the body (e.g. pre and probiotics), decrease the risk of some diseases (e.g. cholesterol-lowering products), and could even be used for curing some illnesses. Functional foods are those that contain 1 or more compound that provide important or limited functions in the organism, promoting welfare and health, or for reduction in the risk and protection of hypertension, diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, and heart diseases. Probiotics are defined as “live microbial feed supplements which
beneficially affect the host animal by improving its intestinal microbial balance” It is estimated that over 400 species of bacteria, separated into two broad categories, habitat in the human gastrointestinal tract. The categories are B. fidobacterium and Lactobacillus Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and bifidobacteria are the most common types of microbes
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used as probiotics; but certain yeasts and bacilli may also be helpful. Probiotics are commonly consumed as part of fermented foods with specially added active live cultures; such as in yoghurt, soy yoghurt, or as dietary supplements. Probiotic dairy products The most common probiotic dairy products
