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Worldwide research tendencies on probiotics in food science: 1993 to 2021

Çisem Bulut Albayrak (Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Aydın Adnan Menderes University, Aydın, Turkey)
Mustafa Duran (Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Aydın Adnan Menderes University, Aydın, Turkey)

British Food Journal

ISSN: 0007-070X

Article publication date: 3 August 2021

Issue publication date: 8 February 2022

328

Abstract

Purpose

This study aimed to identify the main and emerging structural patterns in the growth of the literature on probiotic research in food science, analyze current trends and determine gaps and present future projections.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 1,301 scientific documents retrieved from Scopus database dated from 1993 to 2021 were analyzed by using bibliometric and scientometric tools.

Findings

The most influencer journals, leading countries and hotspots were identified by scientometric mapping. “Lactic acid bacteria”, “lactobacillus”, “lactobacillus plantarum”, “viability”, “functional foods” and “microencapsulation” were the top keywords that indicate main emerging areas. After a clear understanding of the current situation, future directions can be better projected. Therefore, investigating new probiotic microorganisms with advanced health promoting properties, adapting the new organisms to various food formulations, identifying the probiotic potential of unexplored traditional fermented foods and developing of nondairy probiotic foods can be the studies of the future.

Research limitations/implications

Probiotic concept has been revised during years and valuable knowledge has been accumulated over past decades. The findings demonstrate the development and trends of probiotic related food science researches. This is the first study to address the limitations of prior systematic literature reviews by applying network analysis and guide future works to fill the identified gaps.

Originality/value

The probiotic concept has been revised for years and valuable knowledge has been accumulated. Within the expanding literature, scientometric and bibliometric analysis will provide valuable contribution for identifying the main patterns, analyzing current trends, determining gaps and presenting future projection. This work presents detailed analysis to determine tendencies in probiotic research in food science.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Funding: The authors do not have a financial relationship with the organization that sponsored the research.

Data availability: All data generated and processed during this research are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Conflict of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Citation

Bulut Albayrak, Ç. and Duran, M. (2022), "Worldwide research tendencies on probiotics in food science: 1993 to 2021", British Food Journal, Vol. 124 No. 3, pp. 679-700. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-03-2021-0225

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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