Evaluation of Fruit Juices as Probiotic Delivery Systems: Challenges, Current Strategies and Health Benefits

There is an increasing trend for development of alternatives to deliver probiotics with non-dairy products. Fruit juices have become one of main food products for delivery of probiotics. The availability of different fruit juice types, their fresh and healthy perception from the consumer's side and demand for plant-based products increase attention to fortification of fruit juices with probiotics. Yet, development of probiotic fruit juices is still an emerging area for the functional food concept. Probiotic juices can be developed by using both probiotic Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium and their viability can be strain specific as well dependent on the utilized fruits. The transformation of the fruit components can play roles for the improvement of the potential health promoting functions of fruit juices which should be well-characterized. The insufficient viability of probiotic strains during shelf-life of fruit juices is one of the main challenges and efficient and relatively cheap encapsulation techniques should be developed to ensure their viability. In this study, recent achievements and developments to produce probiotic fruit juices have been summarized. Also, potential role of probiotic fortification for the health promoting functions of fruit juices related to probiotic metabolism has been discussed. Finally, strategies to increase the viability of distinct probiotics have been discussed.