*4.3.3 Probiotic viability and survival applications*

Probiotics can provide health benefits when they reach the targets with a high number of viable cells. In fact, many microbial probiotic strains are sensitive to external environmental conditions such as high acidity, moisture, temperature, and oxygen level. Two main strategies can be employed in maintaining the viability, or reducing the mortality of probiotic strains: (1) using additional ingredients such as prebiotics in a synbiotic formulation for supporting cell viability throughout processing, storage, distribution, gastrointestinal, and environmental stress conditions; (2) protecting cells by using encapsulation technology or coating processes.
