| There are a number of milk products containing bifidobacteria in the world market and the demand fornew products is increasing with the awareness of the potential health benefits of the consumption of products blendedwith bifidobacteria. Bifidobacterium, a representative class of probiotics in human intestine, is an important symbol forhuman health, because of their nutritional, antibacterial, immunomodulatory, anticancer and other physiologicalregulatory functions. Research and commercial interest in the genus Bifidobacterium have increased in the last decadeespecially in dairy products. Great achievements have been achieved, but there still remain problems to be resolved.This review will discuss the general characteristics of bifidobacteria, current applications of bifidobacteria in milkproducts, and their nutritional and beneficial health properties. |
