Synbiotics in Non-Dairy Matrices: Design, formulation and functional evaluation

The potential health benefits of synbiotics have led to increased interest in their consumption. However, most functional foods containing synbiotics are dairy products. Since some people cannot or do not wish to consume dairy products, a gap exists in the functional food market. Therefore, it is necessary to promote and develop these foods. Expanding our knowledge of these functional foods and better understanding the challenges presented by their bioactive compounds during the production process, as well as their in vivo behavior, is fundamental to their design. This review provides an overview for the design of non-dairy synbiotic products, from the selection of probiotics and prebiotics, the evaluation of their synergistic or complementary interactions, the assessment of their functionality, and finally, the determination of their safety, acceptability, and shelf life.