Lactic acid bacteria as functional starter cultures for the food fermentation industry
The production of fermented foods is based on the use of starter cultures, for instance lactic acid bacteria that initiate rapid acidification of the raw material. Recently, new starter cultures of lactic acid bacteria with an industrially important functionality are being developed. The latter can contribute to the microbial safety or offer one or more organoleptic, technological, nutritional, or health advantages. Examples are lactic acid bacteria that produce antimicrobial substances, sugar polymers, sweeteners, aromatic compounds, vitamins, or useful enzymes, or that have probiotic properties.
Surviving the Acid Test: Responses of Gram-Positive Bacteria to Low pH
SUMMARY Gram-positive bacteria possess a myriad of acid resistance systems that can help them to overcome the challenge posed by different acidic environments. In this review the most common mechanisms are described: i.e., the use of proton pumps, the protection or repair of macromolecules, cell membrane changes, production of alkali, induction of pathways by transcriptional regulators, alteration of metabolism, and the role of cell density and cell signaling. We also discuss the reponses of Listeria monocytogenes, Rhodococcus, Mycobacterium, Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, oral streptococci, and lactic acid bacteria to acidic environments and outline ways in which this knowledge has been or may be used to either aid or prevent bacterial survival in low-pH environments.
Heteropolysaccharides from lactic acid bacteria.
Microbial exopolysaccharides are biothickeners that can be added to a wide variety of food products, where they serve as viscosifying, stabilizing, emulsifying or gelling agents. Numerous exopolysaccharides with different composition, size and structure are synthesized by lactic acid bacteria. The heteropolysaccharides from both mesophilic and thermophilic lactic acid bacteria have received renewed interest recently. Structural analysis combined with rheological studies revealed that there is considerable variation among the different exopolysaccharides; some of them exhibit remarkable thickening and shear-thinning properties and display high intrinsic viscosities. Hence, several slime-producing lactic acid bacterium strains and their biopolymers have interesting functional and technological properties, which may be exploited towards different products, in particular, natural fermented milks. However, information on the biosynthesis, molecular organization and fermentation conditions is rather scarce, and the kinetics of exopolysaccharide formation are poorly described. Moreover, the production of exopolysaccharides is low and often unstable, and their downstream processing is difficult. This review particularly deals with microbiological, biochemical and technological aspects of heteropolysaccharides from, and their production by, lactic acid bacteria. The chemical composition and structure, the biosynthesis, genetics and molecular organization, the nutritional and physiological aspects, the process technology, and both food additive and in situ applications (in particular in yogurt) of heterotype exopolysaccharides from lactic acid bacteria are described. Where appropriate, suggestions are made for strain improvement, enhanced productivities and advanced modification and production processes (involving enzyme and/or fermentation technology) that may contribute to the economic soundness of applications with this promising group of biomolecules.
Probiotic spectra of lactic acid bacteria (LAB).
Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and their probio-active cellular substances exert many beneficial effects in the gastrointestinal tract. LAB prevent adherence, establishment, and replication of several enteric mucosal pathogens through several antimicrobial mechanisms. LAB also release various enzymes into the intestinal lumen and exert potential synergistic effects on digestion and alleviate symptoms of intestinal malabsoption. Consumption of LAB fermented dairy products with LAB may elicit antitumor effects. These effects are attributed to the inhibition of mutagenic activity; decrease in several enzymes implicated in the generation of carcinogens, mutagens, or tumor-promoting agents; suppression of tumors; and the epidemiology correlating dietary regimes and cancer. Specific cellular components in LAB strains seem to induce strong adjuvant effects including modulation of cell-mediated immune responses, activation of reticuloendothelial system, augmentation of cytokine pathways and regulation of interleukins, and tumor necrosis factors. Oral administration of LAB is well tolerated and proven to be safe in 143 human clinical trials and no adverse effects were reported in any of the total 7,526 subjects studied during 1961-1998. In an effort to decrease the reliance on synthetic antimicrobials and control the emerging immunocompromised host population, the time has come to carefully explore the prophylactic and therapeutic applications of probiotic LAB.
Quorum sensing-controlled gene expression in lactic acid bacteria
Quorum sensing in lactic acid bacteria (LAB) involves peptides that are directly sensed by membrane-located histidine kinases, after which the signal is transmitted to an intracellular response regulator. This regulator in turn activates transcription of target genes, that commonly include the structural gene for the inducer molecule. The two-component signal-transduction machinery has proven to be indispensable for transcription activation and production of several autoinducers found in LAB, which are predominantly bacteriocins or bacteriocin-like peptides. In the nisin autoregulation process in Lactococcus lactis the NisK protein acts as the sensor for nisin and the NisR protein as the response regulator, activating transcription of target genes. The cis-acting elements for NisR were identified as the nisA and nisF promoter fragments and these were further analysed for inducibility. Based on this knowledge efficient nisin-controlled expression (NICE) systems were developed for several different lactic acid bacteria. A promising application of the NICE system is the development of autolytic starter lactococci, which will lyse in an early stage during cheese ripening thereby facilitating the release of intracellular enzymes which can contribute to flavour formation.
Biopreservation by lactic acid bacteria
Biopreservation refers to extended storage life and enhanced safety of foods using the natural microflora and (or) their antibacterial products. Lactic acid bacteria have a major potential for use in biopreservation because they are safe to consume and during storage they naturally dominate the microflora of many foods. In milk, brined vegetables, many cereal products and meats with added carbohydrate, the growth of lactic acid bacteria produces a new food product. In raw meats and fish that are chill stored under vacuum or in an environment with elevated carbon dioxide concentration, the lactic acid bacteria become the dominant population and preserve the meat with a ‘hidden’ fermentation. The same applies to processed meats provided that the lactic acid bacteria survive the heat treatment or they are inoculated onto the product after heat treatment. This paper reviews the current status and potential for controlled biopreservation of foods.
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