Quang D. Nguyen

Bio: Quang D. Nguyen is an academic researcher from Corvinus University of Budapest. The author has contributed to research in topics: Fermentation & Enzyme assay. The author has an hindex of 10, co-authored 20 publications receiving 456 citations.

Probiotics, their health benefits and applications for developing healthier foods: a review

Abstract: In the industrialized world, functional foods have become a part of an everyday diet and are demonstrated to offer potential health benefits beyond the widely accepted nutritional effects. Currently, the most important and frequently used functional food compounds are probiotics and prebiotics, or they are collectively known as ‘synbiotics’. Moreover, with an already healthy image, dairy products appear to be an excellent mean for inventing nutritious foods. Such probiotic dairy foods beneficially affect the host by improving survival and implantation of live microbial dietary supplements in the gastrointestinal flora, by selectively stimulating the growth or activating the catabolism of one or a limited number of health-promoting bacteria in the intestinal tract, and by improving the gastrointestinal tract's microbial balance. Hence, the paper reviews the current scenario of probiotics and their prospective potential applications for functional foods for better health and nutrition of the society.

Alpha-amylases from microbial sources - An overview on recent developments

Abstract: Summary This review covers the progress made in research on microbial a-amylase, a highly demanded industrial enzyme in various sectors such as food, pharmaceuticals, textiles, detergents, etc. Amylases are of ubiquitous occurrence and hold the maximum market share of enzyme sales. The article surveys the a-amylase family and the major characteristics, microbial sources, production aspects, downstream processing, salient biochemical properties, industrial applications, enzyme engineering and some recent research developments.

Influence of food matrix on the viability of probiotic bacteria: A review based on dairy and non-dairy beverages

Abstract: The food biotechnology industry has developed numbers of fermented products containing probiotic strains. Sufficient numbers of selected live probiotics in the products have several advantages for human health. Nowadays, there is increased demand for probiotic based beverages. The application of probiotic cultures in different food matrices (dairy and non-dairy based beverages), could represent a great challenge for viability of probiotics. The success of new probiotic beverages depend on capability of probiotics to provide enough numbers of viable cells that beneficially modify the gut microbiota of the host. Therefore, this article provides an overview of the application of probiotics in dairy and non-dairy based beverages and their viability during refrigerated storage.

The current trends and future perspectives of prebiotics research: a review

Abstract: Prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients that stimulate the growth of bifidogenic and lactic acid bacteria in the gastro-intestinal tract. Typically, the prebiotics consist of dietary fibers and oligosaccharides. Prebiotics exert a plethora of health-promoting effects, owing to which multi million food and pharma industries have been established. Prebiotics are being implicated in starter culture formulation, gut health maintenance, colitis prevention, cancer inhibition, immunopotentiaton, cholesterol removal, reduction of cardiovascular disease, prevention of obesity and constipation, bacteriocin production, use in fishery, poultry, pig, cattle feed and pet food. Looking at the ever-increasing demand of prebiotics, in this review, recent trends in prebiotic production from new novel sources, from food industrial wastes, prebiotic supplementation in food, commercially available prebiotic agents, prebiotic production by various techniques and future perspectives has been discussed. The critical insight into this hot research area aims to stimulate further ponderance.

Review on fermented plant materials as carriers and sources of potentially probiotic lactic acid bacteria – With an emphasis on table olives

Abstract: Consumption of functional probiotic foods has increased over recent decades, alongside with increasing consumer and researcher awareness of their health-promoting effects. This has prompted an interest toward development of novel functional food formulations. Despite fermented dairy products still remaining the most common vectors for the delivery of probiotics to humans, such other food matrices as fruits and vegetables offer a promising performance as sources and carriers of probiotic strains. Hence, these types of matrices are thoroughly reviewed here – with table olives being subjected to comprehensive discussion as a case study, owing to their suitable microstructure and unique sensory and nutritional features.