The potential use of synbiotic combinations in cereal-based solid food products- A review

Up to now, although there are many studies regarding potential synbiotic combinations in bread, there are limited studies in the literature based on baked goods (cake, biscuit/cookie/cracker) and other cereal-based solid foods (CB-SF) such as pasta/noodle, breakfast cereal, and waffle. The inulin followed by β-glucan is the primary directly-utilized prebiotic source in potential synbiotic combinations in CB-SF.On the other hand, the most commonly used probiotic bacteria in potential synbiotic combinations in CB-SF are Lactobacillus acidophilus, Levilactobacillus brevis, Lacticaseibacillus casei, Limosilactobacillus fermentum, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, and Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus, which belong to Lactobacillaceae family. Moreover, Saccharomyces boulardii and Bacillus coagulans were also utilized in the use of synbiotic combinations in cake and pasta formulations, respectively. However, generally, no viable probiotics from Lactobacillaceae were detected in CB-SF after baking/cooking. Therefore, the most utilized wall materials which have the prebiotic potential for preparing co-encapsulated probiotic bacterial strains to enhance their stability and viability throughout producing, storing, and handling processes in CB-SF are high-amylose maize starch, chitosan, and some hydrocolloids such as pectin, κ-carrageenan, gum arabic, guar gum, xanthan gum, acacia gum, methylcellulose, and carboxymethylcellulose. Moreover, probiotic inclusion with edible films/coating which have prebiotic potential could be another way to meet the recommended probiotic levels in CB-SF. In addition, there are some promising results regarding the hypocholesterolemic effect of synbiotic combinations in CB-SF. In this regard, the following studies should focus not only on the viability of probiotics with prebiotics but also on the nutritional, technological, and sensorial properties and effects on human health of CB-SF regarding their synbiotic potential.