Probiotic microorganisms of the genus Bacillus spp. are attractive due to their inherent stability of spore-forming bacteria. Among them, Bacillus coagulans has demonstrated great prospects as a probiotic for food production. This review explores the impacts of the processing and storage on the viability of B. coagulans and how this influences its applicability on different food matrices. In addition, the resistance to the gastrointestinal tract, which is clearly a crucial factor to probiotics, is approached. In parallel, the paraprobiotic potential of B. coagulans is also discussed. Studies evidenced a great survival range of this microorganism during different processing/storage conditions: B. coagulans maintains its availability during thermal and acidic conditions and also can survive in foods with intermediate water activity. Vegetative and sporulated cells of B. coagulans showed great resistance to in vitro simulations of gastrointestinal tract, surviving adverse conditions of pH, osmotic concentration, and temperature. These results suggest that B. coagulans has the potential to be used in the production of different probiotic food matrices.

In recent years, edible flowers have gained increasing attention as unconventional foods, primarily due to their richness in bioactive compounds. Within this context, Clitoria ternatea L. (Fabaceae), commonly known as butterfly pea, stands out not only for its remarkable biological properties but also for its intense blue pigmentation. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the plant’s potential in the food industry, highlighting its bioactive compounds, technological applications, and associated health benefits. Recent studies have demonstrated its antioxidant, antidiabetic, anti-obesity, hepatoprotective, and anticancer activities, as well as its use as a natural colorant, functional ingredient, active packaging component, and in nutraceutical and cosmetic formulations. Despite these promising findings, most available evidence comes from preclinical studies, with limited clinical validation to date. Therefore, further human studies are needed to confirm the efficacy and safety of the reported beneficial effects. Altogether, C. ternatea represents a promising natural resource for developing functional foods that meet the growing clean-label demand, fostering the incorporation of sustainable and natural ingredients.

Probiotics can be like microorganisms that, when used for the health of living animals, confer health benefits. Probiotics are well known and well accepted by consumers, but they are mainly in dairy products, being a barrier to consumers who are lactose intolerant or allergic to milk proteins. In this sense, plant matrices are suitable to host probiotic microorganisms to increase the functional characteristics of minimally processed vegetables. In this way, this work reviews the main studies that show the potential of adding probiotics to minimally processed fruits. In addition, different ways of adding probiotics to plant matrices are discussed. In parallel, the review presents the viability of probiotics in minimally processed fruits, the challenges encountered and the best strategy for the incorporation of these microorganisms into plant matrices. Available research indicates that the intrinsic properties of vegetables contribute to an effective association of probiotics. Therefore, the possibility of using these matrices as carriers of probiotic strains is an opportunity to provide consumers with new probiotic foods that can be part of a varied diet, ensuring a regular intake of these microorganisms.