Clinical Uses and Survival Study of Free and Encapsulated Probiotic Bacteria in Fruit Juices: A Review

Probiotics are dietary supplements with potential health benefits for humans when consumed regularly at appropriate quantities. The latest evidence shows possible beneficial effects of probiotics in COVID-19 treatment. Interests in probiotic consumption have led to provide products such as probiotic juices with vitamins, minerals, prebiotics and appropriate levels of probiotics to the market in free and encapsulated forms, which are not fully addressed in scientific literatures. The objective of this review was to investigate effects of probiotics for the management of human health. Other objectives included study on effects of free and encapsulated forms of probiotics when incorporated in fruit juices on their survivability, storage stability and physiological and functional characteristics in host cells under gastric and intestinal conditions. Results and Conclusion: Studies have shown that lactobacilli strains are verified strains for producing probiotic supplements, including juices. Various methods have been suggested to improve survivability of probiotics. Encapsulation can protect probiotics against physical characteristics of juices and hence bacterial physiological damages under anaerobic conditions. Several methods have been used to encapsulate probiotics, each of them has shown distinct characteristics. However, further studies on the quality control of probiotic juices are necessary.