Fermented food products for gastrointestinal health and related diseases

The incidence of lifestyle diseases such as inflammatory bowel diseases is increasing due to unhealthy eating habits and modern lifestyles, resulting in a growing demand for fermented foods worldwide due to their scientifically proven functional and nutritional attributes. Fermented foods are obtained by controlled microbial growth and enzymatic degradation of food constituents. These foods have a good amount of probiotic bacteria and bioactive peptides that benefit human health. Bioactive peptides are formed by either fermentation or enzymatic hydrolysis of food proteins. Fermented foods and beverages i.e., dahi, yogurt, kefir, kimchi, sourdough bread, pickles play a significant role in gut microbiota balance and mental health. Starter culture used in the fermentation of food products provide various health-promoting activities to fermented foods like anti-oxidant activity, anti-hypertensive activity, probiotic activity and improves protein digestibility. Several groups of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains produce Exopolysaccharides (EPS) such as  and - glucans, galactans, fructans, and gluco- and fructo-oligosaccharides. EPS produced by LAB has a positive impact on gut health. In addition, probiotic bacteria have proven to be a beneficial ingredient for any gut disorder (inside or outside the GI tract). They regulate the level of immunoglobulins (IgA) and inflammatory cytokines and improve gut barrier activity. Symbiotic yogurt (made with bacterial strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium longum) helps raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and also changes the ratio of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) to HDL. Consumption of kefir inhibits the pathogen's action by the production of acids and bacteriocins. Isolation and pharmaceutical applications of health-promoting bioactive peptides from fermented foods have been emerging in dairy and food research areas.