The present study concerns the isolation and characterization of potential probiotic bacteria isolated from indigenously fermented cereal-based products commonly produced by tribal people of the Aravali hills region of India and the documentation of their unexplored probiotic attributes. The isolated strains were evaluated for probiotic attributes, such as bile salt and acid tolerance, lysozyme and phenol tolerance, antagonistic and antifungal activity, cell autoaggregation, cell-surface hydrophobicity, simulated gastric and pancreatic digestion, antioxidative potential, bile salt hydrolase activity, and H₂O₂ production. The safety of isolates was assessed by antibiotic sensitivity, hemolytic activity, DNase activity, and biogenic amine production assays, while technological properties, such as fermenting ability, amylolytic activity, and EPS production, were also evaluated. A total of 70 LAB isolates were screened initially, and 6 strains showed good potential as probiotic candidates in in vitro assessments. The efficient strains were identified using phenotyping and biochemical characterization, which results were further confirmed and recognized at the strain level using phylogenetic analysis and 16S rDNA sequencing. The current study has shown that Lactiplantibacillus plantarum KMUDR7 isolated from “Makka ki Raab” has excellent probiotic attributes and could be a potential probiotic for product preparation. However, other strains, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus KMUDR1 and Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus KMUDR9, showed good properties, while KMUDR14, -17, and -20 also have comparable probiotic attributes.

Gluten-enteropathy affects a significant number of people, making gluten a major concern in the food industry. With medical advancements, the diagnosis of allergies is becoming easier, and people who are allergic to gluten are recommended a complete gluten-free diet. Since wheat provides a major part of the energy and nutrition in the diet, its elimination affects nutrition intake of allergic population. Food scientists are working to formulate products using protein-rich gluten-free grains with quality attributes at par with gluten-containing products. Focused research has been done to provide nutrition and a variety of food to people suffering from gluten-related disorders. Efforts are being made to remove the gluten from the wheat and other gluten-containing grains, while applying different processing/treatments to enhance the properties of gluten-free grains. Hence, the present review summarizes the importance, processing, and products of different gluten-free grains. It also highlights the digestibility of gluten-free grains with clinical trials and gluten elimination strategies for gluten-containing grains.