ABSTRACT
These days consumers are highly selective about their food and their interest has been shifting towards the nutrients-balance diets that offer the physiological and health benefits. Consequently, the scientists are focusing on the functional foods among which the probiotics are highly beneficial to maintain the balance of gut microbiota thus preventing the chronic diseases. The genera of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are frequently employed by the food processing industry and are mostly incorporated in dairy substrates but the increasing fashion of vegan, the demand for low-fat and low-cholesterol foods, and cases of lactose intolerance caters the ever-expanding demand for non-dairy probiotic products. Therefore, the fruit and vegetable are the best matrices due to the presence of essential nutrients, bioactive components, pleasing taste-profiles. However, the viability of probiotics is a serious challenge to reflect their functionality in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) which is strongly dependent on several processing and storage factors. The present contribution overviews the details of the mechanism of probiotics action, their selection criteria and potential in non-dairy substrates mainly fruits and vegetables. This review also highlights the fruits and vegetables as a potential substrate for the development of probiotic products.
