**13. Conclusion**

Overall, research on *P. freudenreichii* is consolidating its role as a probiotic, due to several outstanding features, such as the tolerance to stresses encountered in the gastrointestinal tract, adhesion to host cells, the anti-pathogenic activity, the anticancer potential and the immunomodulatory properties. Moreover, this species holds technological importance, due to long-established applications in the production of food, vitamin B12 and organic acids. Therefore, this is a promising 2-in-1 bacterium, with both fermentative and probiotic properties. New research on *P. freudenreichii* should allow the development of novel health-promoting fermented foods and should dive further into the characterization of strain diversity and of corresponding properties, as well as employ omics approaches to dissect the molecular mechanisms of its beneficial properties. Studies on this species hold a great potential for the development of novel technological approaches and therapeutic products directly impacting human health.
