Lactic Acid Bacteria and Their Metabolites: Industrial and Health Applications — 2nd Edition

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 August 2024 | Viewed by 2723

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Marine Food Engineering Technology Research Center, Dalian Polytechnic University, Dalian, China
Interests: fermented food; starter culture; flavor; lactic acid bacteria; yeast
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are a kind of microorganism that can ferment carbohydrates and an industrially important group of microorganisms used in food fermentation, such as dairy, meat, wine, and vegetables. Several species of LAB are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) and allowed to be inoculated for food fermentation as starter cultures due to their ability to improve flavor, increase nutrition, reduce harmful substances, increase shelf life, and so on. Recently, as the probiotic, bioprotective, and biocontrol functions of LAB have been reported, the application of LAB and their metabolites has been attracting attention. It has been proven through various scientific studies that many diseases can be treated with probiotic or postbiotics. In addition, LAB produces metabolites (i.e., antimicrobial peptides) related to food safety, prevent the growth of pathogens, and degrade non-nutritive and harmful substances in food. LAB can also synthesize a variety of organic acids, exopolysaccharides, bacteriocin, vitamins, and γ-aminobutyric acid. In addition to traditional screening methods, genetic engineering is now able to offer more flexibility to LAB with higher production and more varieties. This Special Issue will examine the possibilities of LAB and their metabolites in industrial and health applications.

Dr. Xinping Lin
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • lactic acid bacteria
  • starter cultures
  • functional food
  • human health applications
  • probiotic and postbiotics
  • food safety
  • biopreservation
  • biodegradation
  • bioconversion
  • genetic engineering

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

15 pages, 2988 KiB  
Article
Lactiplantibacillus plantarum A72, a Strain with Antioxidant Properties, Obtained through ARTP Mutagenesis, Affects Caenorhabditis elegans Anti-Aging
by Sibo Zou, Qi Wu, Zhigao Li, Sufang Zhang, Liang Dong, Yingxi Chen, Yiwei Dai, Chaofan Ji, Huipeng Liang and Xinping Lin
Foods 2024, 13(6), 924; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13060924 - 19 Mar 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 681
Abstract
This research endeavored to elucidate the antioxidant attributes of lactic acid bacteria, specifically their impact on anti-aging and lifespan augmentation in Caenorhabditis elegans. The study focused on Lactiplantibacillus plantarum A72, identified through ARTP mutagenesis for its potent antioxidant properties. In vitro analysis [...] Read more.
This research endeavored to elucidate the antioxidant attributes of lactic acid bacteria, specifically their impact on anti-aging and lifespan augmentation in Caenorhabditis elegans. The study focused on Lactiplantibacillus plantarum A72, identified through ARTP mutagenesis for its potent antioxidant properties. In vitro analysis affirmed its free radical neutralizing capacity. In C. elegans, the strain not only extended the lifespan by 25.13% and amplified motility 2.52-fold, but also maintained reproductive capabilities. Remarkably, Lpb. plantarum A72 diminished reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in C. elegans by 34.86% and 69.52%, respectively, while concurrently enhancing its antioxidant enzyme activities. The strain also bolstered C. elegans survival rates by 46.33% and 57.78% under high temperature and H2O2 conditions, respectively. Transcriptomic scrutiny revealed that Lpb. plantarum A72 could retard C. elegans aging and extend lifespan by upregulating the sod-5 and hsp-16.1 genes and downregulating the fat-6 and lips-17 genes. These findings propose Lpb. plantarum A72 as a potential antioxidant and anti-aging lactic acid bacteria. Full article
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

13 pages, 2813 KiB  
Article
Insights into the Mechanisms of Reuterin against Staphylococcus aureus Based on Membrane Damage and Untargeted Metabolomics
by Mao-Cheng Sun, Dian-Dian Li, Yu-Xin Chen, Xiu-Juan Fan, Yu Gao, Haiqing Ye, Tiehua Zhang and Changhui Zhao
Foods 2023, 12(23), 4208; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12234208 - 22 Nov 2023
Viewed by 862
Abstract
Reuterin is a dynamic small-molecule complex produced through glycerol fermentation by Limosilactobacillus reuteri and has potential as a food biopreservative. Despite its broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, the underlying mechanism of action of reuterin is still elusive. The present paper aimed to explore the antibacterial mechanism [...] Read more.
Reuterin is a dynamic small-molecule complex produced through glycerol fermentation by Limosilactobacillus reuteri and has potential as a food biopreservative. Despite its broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, the underlying mechanism of action of reuterin is still elusive. The present paper aimed to explore the antibacterial mechanism of reuterin and its effects on membrane damage and the intracellular metabolome of S. aureus. Our results showed that reuterin has a minimum inhibitory concentration of 18.25 mM against S. aureus, based on the 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde level. Key indicators such as extracellular electrical conductivity, membrane potential and permeability were significantly increased, while intracellular pH, ATP and DNA were markedly decreased, implying that reuterin causes a disruption to the structure of the cell membrane. The morphological damage to the cells was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. Subsequent metabolomic analysis identified significant alterations in metabolites primarily involved in lipid, amino acid, carbohydrate metabolism and phosphotransferase system, which is crucial for cell membrane regulation and energy supply. Consequently, these findings indicated that the antibacterial mechanism of reuterin initially targets lipid and amino acid metabolism, leading to cell membrane damage, which subsequently results in energy metabolism disorder and, ultimately, cell death. This paper offers innovative perspectives on the antibacterial mechanism of reuterin, contributing to its potential application as a food preservative. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 2871 KiB  
Article
Metabolomic Differences between Viable but Nonculturable and Recovered Lacticaseibacillus paracasei Zhang
by Huiying Wang, Yuhong Zhang, Lixia Dai, Xiaoyu Bo, Xiangyun Liu, Xin Zhao, Jie Yu, Lai-Yu Kwok and Qiuhua Bao
Foods 2023, 12(18), 3472; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12183472 - 18 Sep 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 840
Abstract
The fermentation process can be affected when the starter culture enters the viable but nonculturable (VBNC) state. Therefore, it is of interest to investigate how VBNC cells change physiologically. Lacticaseibacillus (L.) paracasei Zhang is both a probiotic and a starter strain. [...] Read more.
The fermentation process can be affected when the starter culture enters the viable but nonculturable (VBNC) state. Therefore, it is of interest to investigate how VBNC cells change physiologically. Lacticaseibacillus (L.) paracasei Zhang is both a probiotic and a starter strain. This study aimed to investigate the metabolomic differences between VBNC and recovered L. paracasei Zhang cells. First, L. paracasei Zhang was induced to enter the VBNC state by keeping the cells in a liquid de Man–Rogosa–Sharpe (MRS) medium at 4 °C for 220 days. Flow cytometry was used to sort the induced VBNC cells, and three different types of culture media (MRS medium, skim milk with 1% yeast extract, and skim milk) were used for cell resuscitation. Cell growth responses in the three types of recovery media suggested that the liquid MRS medium was the most effective in reversing the VBNC state in L. paracasei Zhang. Metabolomics analysis revealed 25 differential metabolites from five main metabolite classes (amino acid, carbohydrate, lipid, vitamin, and purine and pyrimidine). The levels of L-cysteine, L-alanine, L-lysine, and L-arginine notably increased in the revived cells, while cellulose, alginose, and guanine significantly decreased. This study confirmed that VBNC cells had an altered physiology. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop