Viability of in chocolates during storage and bioaccessibility of polyphenols and SCFAs.

This study evaluated the viability of encapsulated subsp. in chocolate during storage and gastrointestinal transit. Flavonoid contents and short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) production during gastrointestinal transit were also assessed. Encapsulated L. subsp. survived well in chocolates >7 logs both after 120 days of storage at 4 °C and 25 °C, and during gastrointestinal transit. The release of SCFAs through gastrointestinal digestion and colonic fermentation revealed that probiotic-chocolates could be an excellent source of nutrients for the gut microbiota. Encapsulated probiotic in chocolates with 70% cocoa produced significantly ( < 0.05) more acetic, propionic, isobutyric, butyric and isovaleric acids than that with 45% cocoa. The bioconversion results of a specific polyphenol by subsp. exhibited that chocolate polyphenols could be utilized by probiotics for their metabolism. These findings confirmed that chocolate could be successfully fortified with subsp. encapsulation to improve health promoting properties of chocolates.