In recent times, there has been growing recognition of the key role of foods and beverages in disease prevention and treatment. Thus, the production and consumption of functional foods has gained much importance as they provide a health benefit beyond the basic nutritional functions. At present, beverages are by far the most active functional food category because of convenience and possibility to meet consumer demands for container contents, size, shape, and appearance, as well as ease of distribution and storage for refrigerated and shelf-stable products. Moreover, they are an excellent delivering means for nutrients and bioactive compounds including vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, ω-3 fatty acids, plant extracts, and fiber, prebiotics, and probiotics. However, in most cases, specific concerns have been raised over their safety. This review reports on the scientific advances in the emerging area of functional beverages with a focus on commercially available products, as well as on the potential health benefits related to their consumption.

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The main aim of this research, performed by some students in Food Science and Technology of Foggia University, is to show how perform the selection of a functional starter through a step-by-step procedure. Fifteen yeast strains were studied in order to assess their biotechnological traits, e.g. catalase, urease, B-glucosidase, pectolytic and xylanolytic activities, production of H₂S, resistance to copper, SO₂ and acetic acid, growth at different temperatures, alkaline pH, in presence of different amounts of ethanol and glucose, and some probiotic properties. After studying these abilities, yeasts were identified through the miniaturized system API 20 C AUX and two kinds of multivariate analyses (Cluster Analysis and Principal Component Analysis) were performed to highlight the best strains.

Casanova F.P., Bevilacqua A., Petruzzi L., Sinigaglia M., Corbo M.R. (2015): Fermentative activity of promising yeasts for cereal-based beverages using CO 2 headspace analysis. Czech J. Food Sci., 33: 8-12.This article proposes an approach based on the evaluation of CO 2 produced by Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii, Kluyveromyces lactis × Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces pastorianus var. pastorianus, Kazachstania exigua, as a function of different media (laboratory media with glucose and maltose) and sugars to screen promising yeasts for cerealbased beverages. Data were modelled by the Gompertz equation to estimate the time of metabolic adaptation (λ), the rate of CO 2 production (k max ), and the maximum concentration of CO 2 [(CO 2 ) max ]. Kl. lactis showed the lowest value of (CO 2 ) max , which suggests an "attenuated" metabolic response in the medium containing glucose. K. exigua showed a reduced production of CO 2 in the presence of maltose; however, the decrease of (CO 2 ) max was not related to an increase of λ.

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