Power of bifidobacteria in food applications for health promotion

• Published in: The Handbook of Microbial Bioresources pp. 228 - 258
• Main Authors: Nguyen, Q. D, Kun, S, Bujna, E, Havas, P, Hoschke, Á, Rezessy-Szabó, J. M
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Wallingford, UK CABI 2016; CAB International
• Subjects: Actinobacteria; Actinobacteridae; adenoma; allergies; animals; antibacterial agents; antibiotics; asthma; Bacteria; bacterial diseases; bacterial infections; bacterioses; bacterium; Bifidobacteriaceae; Bifidobacteriales; Bifidobacterium; Biotechnology; Botany & plant sciences; bowel cancer; Campylobacterales; cancers; carbohydrate metabolism; carbohydrates; cereals; cheeses; Chordata; colon; colon cancer; dairy products; disease prevention; drug susceptibility; enteropathy; Epsilonproteobacteria; eukaryotes; food products; foods; fruit juices; fruits; functional foods; gastrointestinal diseases; gut flora; health; health promotion; Helicobacter; Helicobacter pylori; Helicobacteraceae; Hominidae; Homo; human diseases; hydrogen ion concentration; IBS; ice cream; infections; intestinal diseases; intestinal micro-organisms; intestinal microorganisms; irritable bowel syndrome; irritable colon; joghurt; lactose; lactose intolerance; mammals; man; metabolism; microbial flora; Microbiology (non-medical); microflora; microorganisms; milk; milk products; milk sugar; neoplasms; oxygen; potential of hydrogen; primates; probiotics; prokaryotes; Proteobacteria; reviews; saccharides; soy milk; soya milk; soyabean milk; spastic colon; temperature; therapeutics; therapy; tolerance; vegetable crops; vegetables; vertebrates; yoghurt; yogurt
• ISBN: 9781780645216; 178064521X
• DOI: 10.1079/9781780645216.0228

Bifidobacteria are the predominant bacteria in the normal intestinal biota of healthy breast-fed newborns (more than 95% of the total bacterial population), and represent approximately 20% of the microbiota in the gastrointestinal tract of adults. Nowadays, these bacteria are the second most commonly used microorganisms in the production of probiotic food products after members of the genus . Bifidobacteria have been intensively studied for the prevention and treatment of human and/or animal gastrointestinal disorders, such as colonic transit disorders, intestinal infections, colonic adenomas and cancer. The market of probiotic foods (an important segment of functional foods) is estimated to increase annually by about 6.8% from 2013 to 2018 and has an estimated total sales value of US$44.9 billion in 2018. This chapter focuses on the general characteristics and health effects of bifidobacteria as well as on potential applications of these bacteria in the production of different food products.