2024-03-06
Probiotics are mainly identified as benefiting intestinal health, and food is a carrier that provides probiotics. Foods that potentially carry these probiotics are dairy products including milk, cheese, yogurt, and even ice cream. Dairy foods are a suitable medium for probiotic bacteria since they allow them to be in an optimal physical environment (temperature, pH value, time) with an adequate substance. In addition, these foods buffer probiotics when they pass through the intestinal tract; therefore, they can regulate colonization and provide other bioactive compounds that enhance the functionality of probiotics.
 
Minerals are substances necessary for maintaining physiological functions which are part of the nutrients substance that can be absorbed through food. Minerals are present in dairy products in salts or ions and as part of organic molecules. Generally, minerals in dairy products are not easily absorbed by the human body. When lactic acid bacteria are added to dairy products, the lactic acid bacteria can use biotransformation to incorporate the minerals into amino acids, making the minerals in dairy products more easily absorbed.
 
Some studies have shown that lactic acid bacteria have the potential to synthesize vitamins, specifically from the B complex, through fermentation in dairy. For example, riboflavin is one of the vitamins that chemical strategies have synthesized. However, lactic acid bacteria can ferment in dairy to biosynthesize this vitamin, which gives them the character to act as a vitamin supplier to humans.
 
Probiotic bacteria can synthesize peptides that have different beneficial activities for human health in dairy. For example, Lactobacillus and Lactococcus cultures have been used to inhibit ACE (Angiotensin-I- converting-enzyme) activity, but the most common substrate for this synthesis is milk from different animal sources. Another function of probiotics in dairy products is the ability to synthesize some neurotransmitter peptides, such as GABA (γ-Aminobutyric acid), the Lactobacillus paracasei PF6 is the one that most synthesized this peptide.
 
In addition, probiotics can use biotransformation in dairy products to generate hydrogen peroxide, ethanol, and antibacterial proteins or bacteriocins synthesized to form antibacterial properties and effectively inhibit Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and monocytogenes. Typhimurium and Salmonella typhi growth.
 
Many surveys show that food fortification is the current trend in nutritional intake because it can prevent disease and improve body function. Probiotics are a good choice for increasing nutritional value, especially in dairy products, because they are not only beneficial for digestive health but are also a source of bioactive compounds, as they can synthesize nutrients such as metallic amino acids, vitamins, and peptides. It is only necessary to ensure that these products are not harmful and threatening once consumed.
 
Reference:
V.H Urrutia-Baca, S.N Hernández-Hernández, L.M. Martínez, J.P Dávila-Vega & C. Chuck-Hernández. The Role of Probiotics in Dairy Foods and Strategies to Evaluate Their Functional Modifications. FOOD REVIEWS INTERNATIONAL 2024, VOL. 40, NO. 1, 434–456.
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