ABSTRACT
Functional foods have attracted worldwide attention due to their involvement in nutritional, physiological and immunological functions, and amongst these foods, synbiotics are key functional foods which are produced by the association of prebiotics, and probiotics. Prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients which beneficially affect the host by selectively stimulating the growth and activity of select bacteria in the colon; while probiotics are live microorganisms which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host. The term ‘synbiotic’ refers to the product that contains both prebiotics as well as probiotics. Many promising therapeutic applications of synbiotics are found in the treatment of many chronic ailments. This chapter focuses on the integrated approach used nowadays in functional foods using prebiotics, probiotics and synbiotics in a single product and their mode of action in therapeutic and other applications along with safety issues.
