Prebiotics as Protectants of Lactic Acid Bacteria

Abstract

The important role of lactic acid bacteria in the food and pharmaceutical industries highlights the requirement of appropriate preservation processes. During these processes, the decrease of water activity is the main cause of damage to the bacterial structures; cell membranes being the first target of this damage. To avoid this, using protective compounds becomes mandatory; polyhydroxylated ones being the most widely used. Prebiotics are mostly nondigestible oligosaccharides. Then, why not to use them as protectants? In this chapter, the use of prebiotics as protectants of lactic acid bacteria is addressed. Different aspects will be discussed: the physical chemistry background of bacterial preservation and storage, the protective effect of prebiotics during starter preservation, and their protective effect when incorporated in probiotics-containing food matrices and during the passage through the gastrointestinal tract. This perspective supports novel applications of prebiotics in the food and pharmaceutical industries.