This book primarily focuses on microbial colonization, its role in plant growth and nutrient cycling, mycorrhizae, and providing an overview of phytospheric microorganisms in sustainable crop systems. Despite the advances made in the study of plant-microbe synergism, the relation between microbes and plant health in the context of food security, soil nutrient management, human and plant health is still largely unexplored. Addressing that gap, the book presents reviews and original research articles that highlight the latest discoveries in plant probiotics, their specificity, diversity and function. Additional sections addressing nutrient management, human health, and plant microbiome management to improve plant productivity round out the coverage.

Beneficial microbes called probiotics exist naturally in our bodies and play a vital role in our health. Probiotics have been known to produce important microbiota of antimicrobial compounds that enhance our immunity to counter the harmful effects of pathogenic organisms. These microbes are also used in the treatment of diseases and in negating the side effects of chemically synthesized medicines. The study of probiotic organisms and their wide applications in industrial products for human and animal uses has thus gained momentum. This book provides a comprehensive review on the research and applications of probiotics. It serves as a reference and resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers, companies, and policy makers who are active in fields related to functional food and feed, industrial biotechnology, nutraceuticals, and medicine. All chapters in this book have been written and edited by leading experts in the respective fields from academia, industry, or government.

This book focuses on food security in sustainable agriculture and nutrient management. The study of plant probiotic microbes’ synergism using existing techniques has greatly improved our grasp of the structure and functioning of the plant microbiome. However, the function of plant probiotic microbes and their relation to plants’ health in the context of food security, soil nutrient management, human and plant health are largely unexplored. Compared to human probiotics, diverse types and millions of microbiota inhabit plants, forming multifaceted and complicated ecological societies that stimulate plant growth and health through their combined metabolic activities. From the perspective of sustainable cropping systems, observing plant probiotics can provide insights on how to stimulate and maintain plant productivity, along with host stress tolerance and recycling of soil nutrients. This book combines reviews and original research articles to highlight the latest advances in plant probiotics, their specificity, diversity, function, as well as plant microbiome management to improve plant growth and productivity, nutrient management and human health.

The study of plant-microbe associations by new techniques has significantly improved our understanding of the structure and specificity of the plant microbiome. Yet, microbiome function and the importance of the plant’s microbiome in the context of human and plant health are largely unexplored. Comparable with our human microbiome, millions of microbes inhabit plants, forming complex ecological communities that influence plant growth and health through its collective metabolic activities and host interactions. Viewing the microbiota from an ecological perspective can provide insight into how to promote plant health and stress tolerance of their hosts or how to adapt to a changing climate by targeting this microbial community. Moreover, the plant microbiome has a substantial impact on human health by influencing our gut microbiome by eating raw plants such as lettuce and herbs but also by influencing the microbiome of our environment through airflow. This research topic comprising reviews, original and opinion articles highlights the current knowledge regarding plant microbiomes, their specificity, diversity and function as well as all aspects studying the management of plant microbiomes to enhance plant growth, health quality and stress tolerance.

Bioactive Foods in Promoting Health: Probiotics and Prebiotics brings together experts working on the different aspects of supplementation, foods, and bacterial preparations, in health promotion and disease prevention, to provide current scientific information, as well as providing a framework upon which to build clinical disease treatment studies. Since common dietary bacterial preparations are over-the-counter and readily available, this book will be useful to the growing nutrition, food science, and natural product community that will use it as a resource in identifying dietary behavioral modifications in pursuit of improved health as well as for treatment of specific disease, as it focuses on the growing body of knowledge of the role of various bacteria in reducing disease risk and disease. Probiotics are now a multi-billion-dollar, dietary supplement business which is built upon extremely little research data. In order to follow the 1994 ruling, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration with the support of Congress is currently pushing this industry to base its claims and products on scientific research. Research as shown that dietary habits need to be altered for most people whether for continued or improved good health. The conclusions and recommendations from the various chapters in this book will provide a basis for those important factors of change by industry with new uses. Animal studies and early clinical ones will lead to new uses and studies. Particularly the cutting edge experimental and clinical studies from Europe will provide novel approaches to clinical uses through their innovative new studies. Heavy emphasis on clinical applications (benefits and/or lack thereof) as well as future biomedical therapeutic uses identified in animal model studies Focused on therapies and data supporting them for application in clinical medicine as complementary and alternative medicines Key insights into gut flora and the potential health benefits thereof Health scientists and nutritionists will use this information to map out key areas of research. Food scientists will use it in product development Information on pre-and probiotics as important sources of micro-and macronutrients Aids in the development of methods of bio-modification of dietary plant molecules for health promotion Coverage of a broad range of bacterial consituents Nutritionists will use the information to identify which of these constituents should be used as dietary supplements based on health status of an individual Science-based information on the health promoting characteristics of pre-and probiotics Provides defense of food selections for individual consumption based on health needs and current status Diverse international authoring team experienced in studying prebiotics and probiotics for medical practice Unusally broad range of experiences and newly completed clinical and animal studies provides extended access to latest information

Probiotic and Prebiotics in Foods: Challenges, Innovations, and Advances reviews recent advances, innovations, and challenges in probiotics/prebiotics in food and beverages. The book presents up-to-date, novel and extensive information regarding recent research and applications in probiotics and prebiotics in food. Sections address probiotics, prebiotics, paraprobiotics and postbiotics, probiotics, prebiotics and bucal health, probiotics, prebiotics and obesity, probiotics, prebiotics and sleep quality, in vitro and in vivo assays for selection of probiotics, probiotics and mycotoxins, edible films added to probiotic and prebiotics, predictive microbiology applied to development of probiotic foods, non-bovine milk products as probiotic and prebiotic foods, emerging technologies, and much more. Written for food scientists, nutritionists, health professionals, food product developers, microbiologists, those working in food safety, and graduate students and researchers working in academia, this book is a welcomed resource on the topics discussed. Includes coverage of both dairy and non-dairy probiotics, prebiotics and symbiotic food products Discusses the efficacy of food substrate in probiotic and prebiotic delivery Presents predictive microbiology models

Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Synbiotics: Bioactive Foods in Health Promotion reviews and presents new hypotheses and conclusions on the effects of different bioactive components of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics to prevent disease and improve the health of various populations. Experts define and support the actions of bacteria; bacteria modified bioflavonoids and prebiotic fibrous materials and vegetable compounds. A major emphasis is placed on the health-promoting activities and bioactive components of probiotic bacteria. Offers a novel focus on synbiotics, carefully designed prebiotics probiotics combinations to help design functional food and nutraceutical products Discusses how prebiotics and probiotics are complementary and can be incorporated into food products and used as alternative medicines Defines the variety of applications of probiotics in health and disease resistance and provides key insights into how gut flora are modified by specific food materials Includes valuable information on how prebiotics are important sources of micro-and macronutrients that modify body functions