Cited by 131Probiotics and Fermented FoodsMicroencapsulation and Drying ProcessesInfant Nutrition and Health

The underexposed role of food matrices in probiotic products: Reviewing the relationship between carrier matrices and product parameters

Open access
Flach, Joost, van der Waal, Mark B., van den Nieuwboer, Maurits, Claassen, Eric, Larsen, Olaf F. A.·2018·Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition

Abstract

Probiotic microorganisms are increasingly incorporated into food matrices in order to confer proposed health benefits on the consumer. It is important that the health benefits, sensory properties, shelf-life and probiotic gastrointestinal tract (GIT) survival of these products are carefully balanced as they determine functionality and drive consumer acceptance. The strain-specific effects of probiotic species are imperative in this process but carrier matrices may play a pivotal role as well. This study therefore recapitulates the wealth of knowledge on carrier matrices and their interaction with probiotic strains. The most substantiated carrier matrices, factors that influence probiotic functionality and matrix effects on shelf-life, GIT survival and clinical efficacy are reviewed. Results indicate that carrier matrices have a significant impact on the quality of probiotic products. Matrix components, such as proteins, carbohydrates and flavoring agents are shown to alter probiotic efficacy and viability. In vivo studies furthermore revealed strain-dependent matrix effects on the GIT survival of probiotic bacteria. However, only a limited number of studies have specifically addressed the effects of carrier matrices on the aforementioned product-parameters; most studies seem to focus solely on the strain-specific effects of probiotic microorganisms. This hampers the innovation of probiotic products. More human studies, comparing not only different probiotic strains but different carrier matrices as well, are needed to drive the innovation cycle.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1080/10408398.2017.1334624

Cites

138 of 138 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

The text we found for this paper looks like another document, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The text we found for this paper looks like another document, so the self-check wasn’t run.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

1 of the 139 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Flach, J., van der Waal, M. B., van den Nieuwboer, M., Claassen, E., & Larsen, O. F. A.
Affiliations
  • CR2O (NL)
  • Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Athena Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • New-Med Solutions, Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)
Corresponding author
Flach, Joost
Venue
Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition
Published
2017-08-29
Volume
58
Issue
15
Pages
2570-2584
ISSN
  • 1040-8398 (ISSN-L)
  • 1549-7852
OpenAlex
W2626833146
Cited by
131
References
139
Citations by year
2026: 16 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 6 · 2012: 1
FWCI
0.77
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
other-oa
Locations
  • Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • VU Research Portal (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Probiotics and Fermented Foods
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Microencapsulation and Drying Processes
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Infant Nutrition and Health
Keywords
probiotics, food matrix, probiotic viability, gastrointestinal survival, shelf life, sensory properties, health benefits, strain-specific effects, probiotic products, proteins, carbohydrates, flavor compounds
MeSH terms
Fermented Foods, Bacteria, Food Analysis, Food Microbiology, Humans, Probiotics

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review