Gut health is the number one health trend in food and beverage, powering sales of everything from kombucha and kefir to leeks and beans and amassing a global value of $51.62bn (Grand View Research).
Now, chocolate looks set to join the gut-friendly sales boom.
And yes, dark chocolate (70%+ cocoa solids), with its high fibre content, has already been recognised as being good for the gut. But now, manufacturers have found a way to add probiotics into dark, milk and white chocolate, without compromising on flavour.
So, how have they done it and what opportunities does it create for manufacturers?
What are probiotics?
Probiotics are live microorganisms, often described as helpful or ‘good’ bacteria, because they help keep the gut healthy.
Probiotics can be found in foods including live yoghurt, sauerkraut, kimchi and soft cheeses.
The seven main probiotics added to probiotic products are Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Saccharomyces, Streptococcus, Enterococcus, Escherichia, and Bacillus.
Making tasty chocolate with probiotics
A new study, published in ACS Food Science & Technology, suggests that adding prebiotics and probiotics to chocolate could enhance its health benefits, while maintaining flavour.
Active cultures need food and protection to survive harsh gut conditions, so prebiotics such as dietary fibres and oligosaccharides (a type of carbohydrate found in certain vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes), are added to probiotic-containing products to create synbiotic foods. However, methods of adding prebiotics have proven labour-intensive, so the researchers explored prebiotics that would not require extensive processing in chocolate fortified with probiotics.
They found that probiotic-enhanced chocolate with prebiotics, such as corn and honey, showed higher antioxidants levels and maintained the probiotics for over 125 days. What’s more, the flavour wasn’t compromised, in fact it was enhanced, with orange flavouring proving most popular with the researchers.
“We enjoyed the orange-flavored chocolates the most, where the vibrant citrus notes complemented the rich cocoa, and it had a slightly softer texture that made each bite feel more luxurious,” says Smriti Gaur, a researcher on the study.
However, the team did note that flavouring agents can influence key properties of chocolate, such as moisture levels and protein content. Further research would therefore be required to determine exactly which flavouring agents were most successful in maintaining the quality of the chocolate.
“In the future, we are excited to explore additional health benefits of these chocolates while thoroughly investigating their sensory and nutritional profiles, with the goal of creating an even more wholesome and enjoyable treat,” says Gaur.
What opportunities does this create for food manufacturers?
This probiotic breakthrough opens the door to major innovation opportunities for manufacturers of dark, milk and white chocolate, moving them firmly into the gut health space.
And it’s not just confectionery manufacturers that could benefit. Any chocolate-based food and beverage product could potentially be adapted, with this new understanding on the behaviour of probiotics when supported by certain prebiotics.
How was the study conducted?
The team developed five different chocolates for their study. One contained only basic chocolate ingredients – cocoa butter, cocoa powder, sugar and milk powder. The remining four served as synbiotic test samples, containing prebiotics (corn and honey), probiotic (Lactobacillus acidophilus La-14 or Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG), and one flavour additive (cinnamon or orange).
When observing the properties of the chocolate samples, the researchers found the fat levels, which influence texture and mouthfeel, were consistent among all five samples. However, there were differences:
- Flavourings impacted some characteristics of the synbiotic chocolates. For example, orange flavourings decreased the pH level, increased the moisture level, and enhanced protein levels, compared to the other samples
- The four synbiotic samples had higher antioxidant levels than the control sample
- The synbiotic samples had less ‘snap’ compared to the control sample, suggesting the additional ingredients disrupted the structure of the chocolate
The total microbial counts of the synbiotic chocolate samples were found to decrease during storage. However, the probiotic microbes still exhibited viability after 125 days. This time period, the team noted, is longer than other researchers have reported when using different bacteria and prebiotics in chocolates.
Additionally, when Gaur and Singh exposed the synbiotic chocolates to simulated gastrointestinal conditions, the probiotics in the samples maintained substantial viability for more than 5 hours.
Source: Novel Formulations of Cinnamon- and Orange-Flavored Synbiotic Corn Chocolates with Enhanced Functional Properties and Probiotic Survival Rates
Published online: 21 February 2025
DOI: 10.1021/acsfoodscitech.4c00741
Authors: Shubhi Singh and Smriti Gaur