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The increasing incidence of chronic diseases related to an unbalanced diet has aroused great interest from the food industries in offering products that could reduce the risks of diseases and/or promoting health [1]. Thus, the nutritional aspect and the benefits that food can bring to health have been watched carefully by consumers. Consumers have been looking for a healthier diet because they are concerned about the relationship between food and health [2]. In this class of foods, we can highlight those with functional properties.

There is no globally accepted definition for functional foods yet [3]. The term “functional foods” was used in Japan in 1984 to describe products fortified with special constituents that offer some beneficial action to human health [3]. In this sense, several official agencies, such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA, European Union), the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA, Brazil), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA, United States) proposed different concepts for functional foods [4]. Therefore, the products developed must respect the criteria of each of these agencies individually to be marketed, such as being validated by human intervention trials [4]. Nowadays, some of the functional ingredients more used by the industry are carotenoids, chlorophylls, fibers, organosulfur compounds, phytosterols, polyphenols, probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics [4]. Table 2.1 shows the potential beneficial effects of ingredients and functional compounds on human health.

The functionality of a food can be associated with the addition of a functional compound/ingredient, but can also be associated with the elimination or replacement of dietary components considered “unhealthy”, such as sugar, salt, and fat [3]. The market for functional foods is extensive and includes several types of food (dairy, vegetables, meat, baked goods, beverages, etc.). This market has the prospect of reaching $ 275.77 billion in 2025 [5]. The dairy sector stands out in this sector representing about 40% of the functional foods in the market [6]. Fermented dairy products (yogurts and fermented milk) are the majority of functional dairy products in the market, most of them added with the functional ingredients probiotics, prebiotics and/or synbiotics [6]. These products were the first dairy products commercialized with a functional claim and still dominate the functional beverage market [7]. In addition to dairy products, prebiotics may be used in several kinds food products, such as health drinks and beverages, meat products, infant formula, as well as supplements and animal feeds [8].

Table 2.1 Potential beneficial effects of ingredients and functional compounds on human health. Adapted from Granato et al. [4].

Functional compound or ingredient	Health benefits
Carotenoids	β-Carotene	Antioxidant, reduces the risk of diseases in eyes, provitamin A, antimutagenic, and radioprotective, etc.
Lutein	Antioxidant, antiatherogenic, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, reduction of risk of cancer, antiulcer, reduces the risk of diseases in eyes.
Lycopene	Antioxidant, cardiovascular disease reduction, cancer risk reduction
Zeaxanthin	Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, provitamin A, better cognitive function, cardiovascular disease reduction, reduction of risk of cancer.
Curcumin	Antioxidant, reduction of diabetes mellitus risk, neurological disorder reduction, cardiovascular disease reduction, and inflammatory mediator reduction.
Chlorophylls	Chlorophyll A and B	Antioxidant, decrease in cancer risk.
Fibers	β-Glucan	Cardiovascular disease reduction, controls diabetes, stimulates the immune system.
Inulin	Prebiotic effect, reduction of atherosclerosis, improve the satiety.
Organosulfur compounds	Glucosinolates	Reduction of risk of metastasis and cancer, avoid redox imbalance in the cells, reduce inflammatory chronic diseases.
Isothiocyanates	Reduction of neurological disorder and reduction of cancer risk.
Phytosterols	Sterol and stanol	Reduction of total cholesterol and LDL-C (total cholesterol), anti-inflammatory, and reduction of neurological disorder
Polyphenols	Anthocyanins, Proanthocyanidins	Antioxidant, prevent and treat hyperuricemia and/or gout, and reduce cardiovascular disease.
Isoflavones	Decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease, reduce the LDL-C, reduce osteoporosis, reduction of diabetes mellitus risk, and reduce liver disease.
Lignans	Reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and hormonal cancer.
Resveratrol	Reduction of cardiovascular disease, reduction of LDL-C
Prebiotics	Inulin, fructooligosaccharides, xylooligosaccharides	Diminution of symptoms of depression, reduction of atherosclerosis, improve satiety, and bifidogenic effect.
Probiotics	Lacticaseibacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium lactis	Management of the gut microbiota, reduction in the gain of weight, reduction of waist circumference, reduction of glucose in the serum, reduction of homeostatic model assessment–insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and insulin, reduction of LDL-C, increase of glutathione levels in the blood, reduction of products of oxidation in blood, reduction of markers of inflammation, reduction of hypertension, reduction of hyperglycemia, increase of HDL-C (high-density lipoprotein–cholesterol).
Synbiotics	L. casei, B. lactis plus inulin, L. acidophilus, fructooligosaccharides, xylooligosaccharides	Reduction of inflammation markers, increase of total antioxidant capacity in serum and plasma, increase of levels of glutathione in blood, increase in nitric oxide, reduction of infection risk, reduction of hypertension, reduction of hyperglycemia.

Prebiotics were first defined as non-digestible food ingredients which selectively stimulate the growth of a restricted type of bacteria in the large intestine, benefiting the host [9]. Currently, prebiotic is defined as “a substrate that is selectively utilized by host microorganisms conferring health benefits” [10]. According to these experts, non-digestible carbohydrates (oligosaccharides and polysaccharides), some peptides and proteins, phenolic compounds, and certain lipids (esters) can also be considered prebiotic ingredients according to the new definition. Thus, when prebiotics are selectively fermented by the resident microbiota the fermentation results in compounds responsible to enhance the physiological properties of the host, such as mineral absorption, intestinal function, decreased risk of colon cancer, and regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism [4, 10]. In addition, they are associated with the prevention of diet-related diseases, such as hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, gastrointestinal infections and intestinal inflammation [11]. The prebiotics consumption also encourages the development of beneficial bacteria and difficult harmful bacteria establishment in the body, which cooperate for the prevention of infections and allergies [12, 13]. The prebiotic market is growing from 2016 to 2024 at an 8% CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate), prospecting 989.4 kilotons in 2021 [14].

In the same direction, the market for synbiotic products has also been increasing considerably. When a prebiotic and probiotic are used simultaneously in a product, the combination is called synbiotic. The updated definition of a synbiotic is “a mixture containing living microorganisms and substrate(s) used selectively by host microorganisms that confer a benefit to the host’s health” [15]. The requirement that the components should meet for evidence of its beneficial action and prove the dose established for prebiotics and probiotics individually, could represent a difficult scenario [15]. Thus, there are two different categories of synbiotics, the complementary and the synergistic synbiotic [15]. In a complementary synbiotic, the prebiotic and probiotic works independently in order to provide at least one health benefit, while a synergistic synbiotic is the mixture of the selectively utilized substrate (prebiotic) and a live microorganism (probiotic), which works together to achieve one or more health benefits [15]. With these new and defined terms and their confusion cleared up, it became much easier for the industry and researchers to explore and create new synbiotics.

In this sense, recently, it was observed an increased quantity of scientific studies using prebiotics or synbiotics ingredients with prospective health claims in dairy products. This chapter will present the main updates on prebiotic and synbiotic dairy products and their health benefits.