“…Plant proteins like zein (Laelorspoen et al., 2014) and soybean proteins (Aubuchon, 2006) and animal proteins like milk proteins (Heidebach et al., 2010; Wang et al., 2020a) and gelatin (Zárate & Nader‐Macias, 2006) have been studied as protectants for efficient drying of probiotic cultures. Particularly, milk protein ingredients, such as caseins, whey proteins, and milk protein concentrates, are widely studied as probiotic carriers due to their nutritive value, cost‐effectiveness, acceptability, palatability, and compatibility with other food ingredients (Dantas et al., 2021; Heller, 2001; Sanders & Marco, 2010). Specific or nonspecific interactions between milk proteins and probiotic cells in the media, followed by adhesion of hydrophobic portions of unfolded proteins to cells during dehydration, can lead to bacteria being coated within protein capsules, which has been proposed to be the mechanism of dairy proteins protecting the survival of probiotics during drying (Burgain et al., 2014; Khem et al., 2016; Liu et al., 2019).…”