en Health Promotion Health Promotion Review Review Article <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height:1;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><b>Background:</b> This review highlights major probiotic strains, challenges in maintaining their viability, and current technological strategies to enhance their stability during processing and storage.<br> <b>Methods:</b> A comprehensive review was conducted using publications from leading nutrition journals and databases like PubMed and Medline. From an initial 114 records, 49 relevant studies were selected.<br> <b>Results:</b> Most probiotic formulations include lactic acid bacteria, mainly from the <i>Lactobacillus</i> and <i>Bifidobacterium</i> genera. Their viability is affected by environmental factors such as high temperatures, stomach acidity, oxygen exposure, and poor storage conditions. Processing techniques like heat treatment, freeze-drying, spray-drying, and the use of specific ingredients also impact survival. To address these challenges, methods such as strain selection, microbial encapsulation, and application of synbiotics have been applied. Evidence supports the role of probiotic-enriched foods in promoting gut microbial balance, alleviating diarrhea, constipation, and symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Additional benefits include reduced risk of colorectal cancer, improved lactose tolerance, immune modulation, inhibition of <i>Helicobacter pylori</i>, enhanced calcium absorption, and reduced serum cholesterol.<br> <b>Conclusion:</b> Optimizing factors that preserve probiotic viability during food processing and storage is key to ensuring their functionality and health benefits upon consumption.</span></span></span></div> Probiotics, Functional foods, Prebiotics, Encapsulation, Synbiotics, 3 12 http://jhehp.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-682-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Jane Njeri Maina jennynjemaina@gmail.com 100319475328460016539 0009-0006-2722-7821 No Department of Human Nutrition Sciences, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Nairobi, Kenya. Anselimo Makokha anmakokha@gmail.com 100319475328460016540 100319475328460016540 No Department of Human Nutrition Sciences, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Nairobi, Kenya. Kevin Aduol komondi@uoeld.ac.ke 100319475328460016541 100319475328460016541 Yes Department of Human Nutrition Sciences, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Nairobi, Kenya; Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Eldoret (UoE), Eldoret, Kenya.