Functional and Nutritious Beverages Produced by Lactic Acid Bacteria

Abstract Currently, in the developed countries, there is a concern about leading a healthy lifestyle including eating “organic” and “functional” food. Moreover, in recent years, the percentage of the population with food allergies or intolerances has increased. Within this framework, lactic acid bacteria (LAB), which are able to ferment a variety of foodstuffs and also colonize the human digestive tract, can play a beneficial role. Many LAB strains have the generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status and are therefore being used in the food industry, especially to produce different types of fermented beverages, because they confer “functionality” to drinks due to the production of bioactive …