# Probiotics and Paraprobiotics--New Proposal for Functional Food
## 4 The Health Benefits of Functional Food with Paraprobiotics  
In general, inactivated, non-viable probiotictic cells, as well as bioactive cells, fragments, and metabolites with health-beneficial properties, are harmless to human beings. Recently, significant progress has taken place in various fields of science, including microbiology, genetics, medicine, nanotechnology, and food technology. It creates opportunities for a new era in functional food production. However, despite an increasing consumer interest in functional food products, convenient incorporation in a wide variety of food matrices, and the availability of inactivation technologies, there are limited studies that explore the application of paraprobiotics in food products (Figure 3). In many studies, paraprobiotics were applied to various food products. In most cases, they did not affect their physicochemical and sensory properties. Paraprobiotics may even contribute to the improvement of food's sensory quality. An opposite impact on food sensory attributes can be produced by some probiotic strains, i.e., the addition of acid-producing probiotic bacteria, which may lead to excessive product acidity. In the study by [PERSON] et al. [63], the addition of paraprobiotics _Lactobacillus gasseri_ to grape juice did not change the pH and acidity in comparison with pure grape juice. This is consistent with the results of the study by [PERSON] et al. [64], where the titratable acidity \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{p{113.8 pt} p{113.8 pt} p{113.8 pt}} \hline
**Attribute/Advantage** & **Paraprobiotic** & **Probiotic** \\ \hline Biopreservation of food & Not possible & A wide spectrum of food products including traditional fermented food \\ \hline Adverse events and possible risks & Not reported; limited data & Possible transfer of antibiotic resistance. Rare local and systemic infections. Impaired gut colonization in neonates \\ \hline Administration with antibiotics or antifungal agents & Bioactivity retained & Possible loss of bioactivity \\ \hline Vulner populations & Safer & Consider potential adverse events and risks \\ \hline Additional features & Stable activity & Variable number of living cells Bioactive metabolites produced Antimicrobial compounds produced \\ \hline Information on health benefits and mechanisms & Scarce information & A great amount of research and metanalysis \\ \hline Authorities’ requirement & Not standardized & GRAS and QPS requirements. Restrictive LBP requirement for new microorganisms \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: _Cont._of soy dairy-free beverages increased regardless of the supplementation by inactivated _Lactobacillus plantarum_. Additionally, the soy dairy-free paraprobiotic beverage was found to have an increased antioxidant activity along with an increased total phenolic content [64]. Considering the alternative usage or even replacement of probiotics by paraprobiotics, the maintenance of the sensory quality and its safety profile, in particular, facilitates the successful development of commercial functional food products. However, the bacterial strain should be carefully chosen because, as shown in the study by [PERSON] et al. [65], the dead cells of _B. animalis_ subsp. _lactis_ BB-12 added to the yogurt improved the sensory assessment, while inactivated _L. acidophilus_ ATCCSD 5221 and _B. animalis_ subsp. _lactis_ BB-12 displayed the lowest sensory score when added. Of note, the important issue is the effectiveness of food products containing paraprobiotics on human well-being or in disease prevention and treatment. Until now, scar literature data have confirmed these beneficial health effects. In the study of [PERSON] et al. [66], 200 subjects were randomized to consume dairy yogurt containing probiotic strains and heat-treated _Lactobacillus plantarum_ versus a placebo.