Healthy chocolate enriched with probiotics: a review

Abstract

Benefits associated with consumption of probiotics and prebiotics are well known and many clinical studies have proven their positive impact on human health. The industrial interest in the usage of probiotics along with prebiotics in new food and pharmaceutical products is gradually increasing. However, the probiotic viability and stability during processing, storage as well as under adverse conditions during the gastrointestinal digestion are the significant challenges in probiotic products development. Chocolates are one of the most appealing products among the majority of people and may serve as a suitable carrier for probiotic delivery to the human gut. In addition, chocolate possess a wide range of potent antioxidants and other nutrients that can positively affect human health. Since there is an increasing demand for novel probiotic products, this review will examine the chocolates as a source of prebiotics, a carrier for already encapsulated probiotics and its possible industrial applications.

Viability of Lactobacillus delbrueckii in chocolates during storage and in-vitro bioaccessibility of polyphenols and SCFAs

“…The probiotic strain was cultured and inoculated in a selective MRS medium and incubated anaerobically using a BB-16 incubator (Heraeus Instruments, Hanau, Germany) at 37 °C for 22 ± 2 h. The bacterial cells were harvested by centrifugation in a refrigerated centrifuge (Allegra X-12R, Beckman Coulter, NSW, Australia) at 5000× g , 4 °C for 15 min. The probiotics were washed twice with 0.85% saline solution and encapsulated by the following method of Hossain et al, 2021a , Hossain et al, 2021b , Hossain et al, 2021c .…”

“…The probiotic viability was assessed during the entire storage period of 120 days at 30 days interval. Samples (25 g) were mixed with 225 mL of sterile 0.1% peptone water and serially diluted, plated on MRS selective medium and incubated anaerobically at 37 °C for 48 h. Results were reported as Log cfu/g ( Hossain et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Interests in functional foods which provide additional health benefits beyond its nutritional value continue to grow and gain the attention of both consumers and the scientific community ( Hossain et al, 2021a , Hossain et al, 2021b , Hossain et al, 2021c ). Probiotics are such important functional ingredients, and the consumption of sufficient amounts of live probiotics via food formulations can assist in maintaining a healthy gut due to their positive physiological effects on gut microbiota ( Hill et al, 2014 ; Wasilewski et al, 2015 ).…”

“…Additionally, flavonoid contents and short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) production during gastrointestinal transit and colonic fermentation in-vitro were also assessed. A well-established in-vitro model with human faecal samples was used in this study ( Hossain et al, 2021 ).…”

Survivability of probiotic strains, Lactobacillus fermentum CECT 5716 and Lactobacillus acidophilus DSM 20079 in grape juice and physico-chemical properties of the juice during refrigerated storage

“…In 2001, the WHO and FAO considered probiotics as 'live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host' . Finally, in 2014, the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) modified the latter definition slightly and defined probiotics as 'live microorganisms, that when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host' (Zendeboodi et al, 2020;Hossain et al, 2021).…”