Lactic acid bacteria in meat fermentation

Abstract The main fermented meat products are fermented sausages in which lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are the essential agents of the ripening process. During indigenous fermentations Lactobacillus curvatus and L. sake are the dominating LAB. Their application as starter organisms ensures the dominance of the starter during the whole ripening process. The suppression of the competing fortuitous LAB depends on the quality of the raw materials and on technological factors. The physiological properties of lactic starters do not suffice to ensure a sensory quality which can be found in traditionally produced dry fermented sausages. Additional activities required are present in micrococci and yeasts which, therefore, are further components of starter culture preparations. Some strains of meat-borne lactobacilli exhibit the essential activities like nitrate reductase, nitrite reductase, catalase, lipase, and protease, respectively. To create the optimal starter cultures composed of lactobacilli, these activities have to be studied and optimized in strains of high competitiveness in the fermenting substrate.     

A new fermentation process allows large-scale production of human milk oligosaccharides by metabolically engineered bacteria

When fed to a beta-galactosidase-negative (lacZ(-)) Escherichia coli strain that was grown on an alternative carbon source (such as glycerol), lactose accumulated intracellularly on induction of the lactose permease. We showed that intracellular lactose was efficiently glycosylated when genes of glycosyltransferase that use lactose as acceptor were expressed. High-cell-density cultivation of lacZ(-) strains that overexpressed the beta 1,3 N acetyl glucosaminyltransferase lgtA gene of Neisseria meningitidis resulted in the synthesis of 6 g x L(-1) of the expected trisaccharide (GlcNAc beta 1-3Gal beta 1-4Glc). When the beta 1,4 galactosyltransferase lgtB gene of N. meningitidis was coexpressed with lgtA, the trisaccharide was further converted to lacto-N-neotetraose (Gal beta 1-4GlcNAc beta 1-3Gal beta 1-4Glc) and lacto-N-neoheaxose with a yield higher than 5 g x L(-1). In a similar way, the nanA(-) E. coli strain that was devoid of NeuAc aldolase activity accumulated NeuAc on induction of the NanT permease and the lacZ(-) nanA(-) strain that overexpressed the N. meningitidis genes of the alpha2,3 sialyltransferase and of the CMP-NeuAc synthase efficiently produced sialyllactose (NeuAc alpha 2-3Gal beta 1-4Glc) from exogenous NeuAc and lactose.     

Lactic acid bacteria of the sour cassava starch fermentation

In Brazil and Colombia, 'sour starch' is traditionally obtained by a submerged lactic fermentation of crude cassava starch followed by sun drying. It is used by local bakers to prepare breadlike products which display the same expanded crumb texture as in wheat bread.
In this process, suspended starch is settled down and left aside for a few weeks under anaerobic conditions where natural lactic populations develop.
Three collections of clones isolated from local fermentations have been identified using the API procedure and further characterized. Most of them belong to different species of Lactobacillus . Many display a ropy phenotype, typical for exopolysaccharide (EPS) excretion. A possible role of these EPS in the special properties of sour starch is discussed.     

Lactic acid bacteria of wines: stimulation of growth and malolactic fermentation

After the appearance of “Etudes sur le vin” by Pasteur, in enology lactic acid bacteria have been considered as deteriorating agents for more than 50 years. About 1920, Ferré in Burgundy and Ribéreau-Gayon in Bordeaux demonstrated the enological importance of the transformation of malic to lactic acid. This notion is now generally accepted in most vinicultural areas. Malolactic fermentation is encouraged, especially for red wines, for two reasons: a) it eliminates the taste of malic acid and lowers the acidity of the wine, b) it assures the biological stability of wines conserved with a minimum of sulphurous anhydride. In traditional vinification, malolactic fermentation is the result of bacterial growth. It is spontaneous, that means induced by the endogenous lactic acid bacteria of grapes and winery equipment. In the must, yeasts and bacteria develop simultaneously; in the antagonism between yeasts and bacteria the bacterial population is more often becoming dominant than being suppressed. The grapes are sulphited so that bacterial growth occurs only after complete exhaustion of sugars by the yeasts. Consequently, alteration of the wine, as a result of sugar fermentation by the bacteria, is prevented. In a well-controlled vinification lactic acid bacteria can complete their growth cycle in the wine. Wine, however, is a poor culture medium and the bacteria multiply under restricted nutritional, physical and chemical conditions. As a consequence, malolactic fermentation is difficult to control in practice, in spite of all the research done for more than 30 years. For a long time, one has tried to stimulate malolactic fermentation by inoculating wine with bacteria. Until now, the problem has been to determine the biomass of bacteria, sufficient for fermentation to take place as well as the quality required. The desired physiological state of the bacteria in the inoculum is also not known.     

Lactic acid bacteria isolated from yak milk show probiotic potential

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology - Probiotic industries strive for new, efficient and promising probiotic strains that impart a positive impact on consumer health. Challenges are persisting...     

Selective fermentation of gentiobiose-derived oligosaccharides by human gut bacteria and influence of molecular weight

Gentiooligosaccharides and alternansucrase gentiobiose acceptor products were fractionated by their degree of polymerization (DP) on a Bio-Gel P2 column. Fractions were characterized by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy, and incubated with human faecal bacteria under anaerobic conditions at 37 degrees C. The growth of predominant gut bacteria on the oligosaccharides was evaluated by fluorescence in situ hybridization and a prebiotic index (PI) was calculated. Lower DP gentiooligosaccharides (DP2-3) showed the highest selectivity (PI of 4.89 and 3.40, respectively), whereas DP4-5 alternansucrase gentiobiose acceptor products generated the greatest values (PI of 5.87). The production of short-chain fatty acids was also determined during the time course of the reactions. The mixture of DP6-10 alternansucrase gentiobiose acceptor products generated the highest levels of butyric acid but the lowest levels of lactic acid. Generally, for similar molecular weights, alternansucrase gentiobiose acceptor products gave higher PI values than gentiooligosaccharides.     

Changes in lactic acid bacteria and components of Awa-bancha by anaerobic fermentation

ABSTRACT

Awa-bancha is a post-fermented tea produced in Naka and Kamikatsu, Tokushima, Japan. We investigated the lactic acid bacteria in each stage of production of Awa-bancha and evaluated the relationships with the components. Lactic acid bacteria were isolated from tea leaves cultured with de Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe (MRS) agar plates, and the species were identified by homology of the 16 S rRNA gene and multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the recA gene to distinguish the Lactobacillus plantarum group. As a result, a variety of species were isolated from the raw tea leaves, and Lactobacillus pentosus was isolated most frequently after anaerobic fermentation. Regarding the tea leaf components, organic acids, such as lactic acid, increased, free amino acids decreased, and catechins changed owing to anaerobic fermentation. Our results suggest that the microbial flora mainly composed of L. pentosus is important in the anaerobic fermentation process for flavor formation of Awa-bancha.     

内蒙古牧区乳与乳制品中乳酸菌资源及其生态分布

从代表内蒙古牧区不同地域特点和独特生态环境的9个盟市18个牧业旗519户牧民家庭,使用目的采样和层次分类随机采样相结合的方法,共采集鲜乳及乳制品样品752份,分离到947株乳酸菌,并通过形态、染色、培养特性及生化反应等实验对其进行了鉴定,有765株实验菌株分别归于7个属50个种和亚种,其中归于乳杆菌属的有28个种和亚种;归于双歧杆菌属的有2个种;归于肠球菌属的有9个种;归于链球菌属的有1个种;归于乳球菌属的有3个种和亚种;归于明串珠菌属的有6个种和亚种;归于片球菌属的有1个种。研究表明,内蒙古牧区乳及乳制品中乳酸菌的种类多、分布广;有些菌株对温度和pH值等环境条件的适应性强;有些菌株还有较强发酵利用松三糖、蜜二糖、棉子糖等糖的能力。     

Lactic acid bacteria as probiotics

A number of Lactobacillus species, Bifidobacterium sp, Saccharomyces boulardii, and some other microbes have been proposed as and are used as probiotic strains, i.e. live microorganisms as food supplement in order to benefit health. The health claims range from rather vague as regulation of bowel activity and increasing of well-being to more specific, such as exerting antagonistic effect on the gastroenteric pathogens Clostridium difficile, Campylobacter jejuni, Helicobacter pylori and rotavirus, neutralising food mutagens produced in colon, shifting the immune response towards a Th2 response, and thereby alleviating allergic reactions, and lowering serum cholesterol (Tannock, 2002). Unfortunately, most publications are case reports, uncontrolled studies in humans, or reports of animal or in vitro studies. Whether or not the probiotic strains employed shall be of human origin is a matter of debate but this is not a matter of concern, as long as the strains can be shown to survive the transport in the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract and to colonise the human large intestine. This includes survival in the stressful environment of the stomach - acidic pH and bile - with induction of new genes encoding a number of stress proteins. Since the availability of antioxidants decreases rostrally in the GI tract production of antioxidants by colonic bacteria provides a beneficial effect in scavenging free radicals. LAB strains commonly produce antimicrobial substance(s) with activity against the homologous strain, but LAB strains also often produce microbicidal substances with effect against gastric and intestinal pathogens and other microbes, or compete for cell surface and mucin binding sites. This could be the mechanism behind reports that some probiotic strains inhibit or decrease translocation of bacteria from the gut to the liver. A protective effect against cancer development can be ascribed to binding of mutagens by intestinal bacteria, reduction of the enzymes beta-glucuronidase and beta-glucosidase, and deconjugation of bile acids, or merely by enhancing the immune system of the host. The latter has attracted considerable interest, and LAB have been tested in several clinical trials in allergic diseases. Characteristics ascribed to a probiotic strain are in general strain specific, and individual strains have to be tested for each property. Survival of strains during production, packing and storage of a viable cell mass has to be tested and declared.     

Methods for the quantitation of human milk oligosaccharides in bacterial fermentation by mass spectrometry

Oligosaccharides are the third most abundant component in human milk. In the past decades, it became apparent that they would be able to protect against pathogens and participate in the development of the gut microflora for infants. However, their role in infants' nutrition and development remains poorly understood. To better understand this function, it is extremely important to have a quantitative tool for profiling oligosaccharides. In this article, we show the development of a method to quantitatively differentiate the relative amounts of oligosaccharides fermented by different intestinal bacteria. To determine the oligosaccharide consumption, bacteria were grown in a medium using human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) as the only carbon source purified from breast milk and further analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (MALDI-FTICR MS). A method using an internal deuterium-labeled standard was developed and compared with an external standard method, with the internal standard method giving better precision and unambiguous measurements than the external standard method and providing to be a novel and robust tool for following bacterial fermentation of milk oligosaccharides.     

Lactic acid bacteria active during the fermentation of wheat silage in small scale silos

Summary Wheat was ensiled and periodically analyzed for lactic acid bacteria present. Initially Lactobacillus plantarum, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Lactobacillus cellobiosus and Streptococcus lactis predominated. After two to four days enterococci including S. faecium and S. bovis were present in high populations as well as Lactobacillus plantarum. It was concluded that mixed populations of enterococci and L. plantarum are active in the successful fermentation of wheat silage.     

Biotechnological production of human milk oligosaccharides

Human milk contains a large variety of oligosaccharides (HMOs) that have the potential to modulate the gut flora, affect different gastrointestinal functions, and influence inflammatory processes. This review introduces the recent advances in the microbial and coupled enzymatic methods to produce HMOs with grouping them into trisaccharides (sialyllactose and fucosyllactose) and complex oligosaccharides (lacto-N-biose derivatives). The high purity and low cost of HMOs should make their use possible in new fields such as the food or pharmaceutical industries.     

乳酸菌胞外多糖对人类肠道菌群的影响

摘要：胞外多糖（EPS）是微生物在生长代谢过程中分泌到细胞壁外及周围生长介质中的一类生物大分子物质。乳酸菌胞外多糖除了具有重要的加工优势外,如提高酸奶等乳制品的粘度、质地和口感,还具有重要的生理活性。本文重点介绍了乳酸菌胞外多糖的分类和主要生物活性,并从胞外多糖的益生元特性、作为肠道能源物质、对肠道细胞的粘附、调节肠道菌群多样性、调节肠道免疫五个方面综述了乳酸菌胞外多糖对人类肠道菌群的影响,同时对胞外多糖的后续研究提出了自己的建议。