Harnessing the Power of Probiotic Strains in Functional Foods: Nutritive, Therapeutic, and Next‑Generation Challenges

Functional foods are increasingly valued for promoting health and preventing disease, with probiotics occupying a central role due to their well-documented benefits.Defined by FAO/WHO (2002) and ISAPP consensus (Hill et al., 2014;Marco et al., 2021), probiotics are live microorganisms that, when consumed in adequate amounts, confer health benefits to the host.They modulate gut microbiota, improve digestion, strengthen immunity, and contribute to the prevention of chronic conditions.Common sources include dairy products, fermented vegetables, soy-based foods, and beverages, with expanding applications in non-dairy carriers (Shori, 2017).Mechanistically, probiotics produce short-chain fatty acids, regulate pH, reinforce epithelial barriers, inhibit pathogens, and modulate immune responses (Bermudez-Brito et al.,