Probiotics Empowering the Future of Beverages

A special issue of Beverages (ISSN 2306-5710).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 1542

Special Issue Editors


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Department of Food Science and Technology, Ionian University, Argostoli, Greece
Interests: dairy science and technology
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, the integration of probiotics into beverages has evolved from a niche health trend into a dynamic and rapidly expanding sector within the global food and drink industry. As consumer interest in functional foods continues to grow, probiotic-enriched beverages are emerging as a key innovation frontier, offering both health benefits and market differentiation.

This Special Issue seeks to explore the transformative role of probiotics in shaping the next generation of beverages. Specifically, it will examine the impact of probiotics on the physicochemical, textural, and sensory characteristics of various beverage matrices, as well as their contribution to nutrition, promoting gut health, immunity, and metabolic function.

Probiotic beverages now span a wide range of substrates and formats, including dairy-based drinks (e.g., kefir, yogurt drinks), non-dairy plant-based alternatives (e.g., oat, soy, and almond milks), fermented teas (e.g., kombucha), fruit and vegetable juices, herbal infusions, cereal-based drinks, and even alcoholic beverages like probiotic beer and wine. These diverse matrices pose unique opportunities and technological challenges for ensuring probiotic viability, sensory appeal, and health efficacy.

This Special Issue invites interdisciplinary contributions (original research and reviews) that explore the scientific, technological, regulatory, and market-driven aspects of probiotic beverage development, and highlight advances and challenges in this evolving field.

Dr. Panagiotis Kandylis
Dr. Dimitra Dimitrellou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Beverages is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • probiotic beverages
  • functional beverages
  • dairy-based probiotics
  • plant-based beverages
  • fermented beverages
  • beverage matrices
  • probiotic viability
  • sensory characteristics
  • gut health
  • market innovation
  • interdisciplinary research

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 1680 KB  
Article
Shelf Life and Sensory Evaluation of a Potentially Probiotic Mead Produced by the Mixed Fermentation of Saccharomyces boulardii and Kombucha
by Ricardo Donizete Teixeira, Handray Fernandes de Souza, Fabiano Vaquero Silva Junior, Felipe Donizete Teixeira, Karina Nascimento Pereira, Amanda Cristina Dias de Oliveira, Adriano Gomes da Cruz, Igor Viana Brandi, Giovana Fumes Ghantous and Eliana Setsuko Kamimura
Beverages 2025, 11(6), 166; https://doi.org/10.3390/beverages11060166 - 27 Nov 2025
Viewed by 1059
Abstract
Mead is a fermented alcoholic beverage obtained through a diluted honey solution and the action of yeasts. Although a potentially probiotic mead obtained by mixed fermentation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii with kombucha has already been proposed in the scientific literature, aspects regarding [...] Read more.
Mead is a fermented alcoholic beverage obtained through a diluted honey solution and the action of yeasts. Although a potentially probiotic mead obtained by mixed fermentation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii with kombucha has already been proposed in the scientific literature, aspects regarding the shelf life and sensory properties of this product must be evaluated in order to provide further knowledge for its potential market introduction. The present study aimed to evaluate the shelf life and sensory profile of potentially probiotic mead produced by mixed fermentation of S. boulardii and kombucha. The main results showed that the microorganisms in the mead exhibited fermentative metabolic activity, albeit reduced, under refrigerated storage conditions, with a decrease in soluble solids and an increase in alcohol content observed during storage. Mead with S. boulardii and kombucha maintained microbial viability above 6 log CFU/mL for both yeasts and lactic acid bacteria up to 60 days of storage, meeting the minimum recommended count for probiotic foods. For the sensory analysis, mead with S. boulardii and kombucha showed higher acceptance and purchase intention, being characterized by sensory attributes such as carbonated, effervescent, flavorful, honey taste, sweeter, refreshing, and less alcoholic. In conclusion, potentially probiotic mead produced with S. boulardii and kombucha presents a shelf life of 60 days and high sensory acceptability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Probiotics Empowering the Future of Beverages)
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