The role of sonication in developing synbiotic Beverages: A review

Abstract

Synbiotics are a combination of probiotic cells and prebiotic components and this harmonious association has numerous health benefits. Conventional processing technologies use high temperatures for processing which reduces the viability and the final quality of synbiotic beverages. Sonication is a rapidly growing technology in the food processing sector and can be employed for the formulation of synbiotic beverages with improved functionalities. The cavitation events generated during the sonication result in beneficial effects like increased viability of probiotic cells, enhanced bifidogenic characteristics of prebiotic components, less processing time, and high-quality products. The sonication process does not affect the sensory attributes of synbiotic beverages however, it alters the structure of prebiotics thus increasing the access by the probiotics. These positive effects are solely dependent on the type of ultrasound process and the ultrasound operating parameters. The review aims to provide information on the technological aspects of ultrasound, a brief about synbiotics, details on the ultrasound process used for the formulation of synbiotics, the influence of ultrasound operating parameters, and a focus on the research gap.

Keywords: Beverages; Cavitation; Prebiotic; Probiotic; Synbiotic; Ultrasound.

Fig. 1

Formation, growth, and bursting of cavity bubble during the sonication process ([44]).

Fig. 2

Beneficial effect of synbiotic on human health (Reproduced from Davani-Davari et al., (2019 [21])).

Fig. 3

SEM images showing sonoporation due to ultrasonication (a) untreated sample, (b-d) treated sample showing cell rupture and voids after exposure to ultrasound treatment of frequency 20 kHz (Reproduced from Ojha et al., (2018).