title: Fermented food in the context of a healthy diet: how to produce novel functional foods?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This review presents an overview of recent studies on the production of functional fermented foods, of both traditional and innovative natures, and the mapping of the functional compounds involved.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The functional aspects of fermented foods are mostly related to the concept of probiotic bacteria or the targeted microbial generation of functional molecules, such as bioactive peptides, during food fermentation. Apart from conventional yoghurt and fermented milks, several fermented nondairy foods are globally gaining in interest, in particular from soy or cereal origin, sometimes novel but often originating from ethnic (Asian) diets. In addition, a range of functional nonmicrobial compounds may be added to the fermented food matrix. Overall, a wide variety of potential health benefits is being claimed, yet often poorly supported by mechanistic insights and rarely demonstrated with clinical trials or even animal models.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although functional foods offer considerable market potential, several issues still need to be addressed. As most of the studies on functional fermented foods are of a rather descriptive and preliminary nature, there is a clear need for mechanistic studies and well controlled in-vivo experiments.
authors.affiliation: Research Group of Industrial Microbiology and Food Biotechnology (IMDO), Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Leroy
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: De Vuyst
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004032:Diet; D005285:Fermentation; D005516:Food Microbiology; D058870:Food, Organic; D055951:Functional Food; D006801:Humans; D023421:Models, Animal; D019936:Probiotics