Prospective applications of probiotics and prebiotics in foods

Research on probiotics and prebiotics has grown over the years in line with the global rise of awareness on the role of functional foods, balanced diet, and healthy lifestyle habits for good health. Many studies have focused on the discovery of new probiotic candidates offering benefits to the consumers, as well as to food products. It is also noticeable the increasing search for ingredients able to improve the survivability of probiotics and health benefits to the consumer among natural sources of dietary fibers, antioxidants, and bioactive peptides. In addition, sustainability concerns have guided studies with probiotic and prebiotic products, in seeking the valorization of neglected fruits and agro-industrial by-products, particularly whey and plant pomace. These and other important aspects of the research of probiotic and prebiotic foods are discussed in this chapter.