Probiotic chocolate : future prospect

The concept of "Probiotic Chocolate" is an interesting aspect of food microbiology that combines the goodness of probiotics with chocolate which is one of the most popular and heavenly foods of all times. Food scientist and industries around the globe have made many attempts in finding creative ways of maintaining the viability of probiotic bacteria in chocolate to protect them from environmental stress conditions and for optimal delivery to the host colon. "Microencapsulation" has been found beneficial in incorporating these bacterial strains in dairy products like cheese, yogurt and ice cream and non-dairy products like meat, fruits and cereals. This technology, therefore, possesses great potential to overcome the viability issues of probiotic microbial strains in the preparation of probiotic chocolate. For instance, algae-based micro-capsule would enhance the survival status of the probiotic organisms. Interestingly, researchers have also evaluated chocolate as a potential protective carrier for oral delivery of a microencapsulated mixture of probiotic strains indicating coating of these organisms in chocolate can be an excellent solution for optimal survival and delivery. These findings have opened up possibilities of using chocolate as a new balanced matrix in the field of probiotics. It is also postulated that the fat in the cocoa butter could protect the probiotic bacteria in probiotic chocolate. Incorporation of Omega-3 fatty acid from other sources like flax seed for protecting the probiotic microorganisms has also been suggested. The concept of "Probiotic chocolate" is not very new, nevertheless, it indeed is fascinating to enhance the goodness of chocolate using health benefiting probiotic microorganisms. Hence, this interesting area of food microbiology requires systematic and scientific approach for creating better products.