Cheese Fermented with Human-Derived Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 and Mushroom Powders: A Novel Psychobiotic Food with Enhanced Bioactivity and Sensory Acceptability

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

It is an interesting study on the development of new foods with psychobiotic abilities.

Regarding the title - how was the bioactivity of cheese detected and measured in the present study?

Please add a concluding sentence to the abstract.

Please add the aim of the present study to the introduction.

Please expand all titles of tables in the Result section.

Start 3.1. subsection with the results of the study, not with the discussion.

Line 256-259. Add the relevant references.

Exclude a part of the discussion from the conclusion section.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Title: Cheese fermented with human-derived Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 and mushroom powders: a novel psychobiotic food with enhanced bioactivity and sensory acceptability

Journal: Fermentation

This manuscript describes an interesting study on probiotics. Below are some general remarks to improve the manuscript:

• The correct reference for the definition of probiotics as ‘‘live microorganisms, that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host” should be added (Hill, et al. 2014 https://www.nature.com/articles/nrgastro.2014.66). This is a consensus statement published by the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) in the journal Nature Reviews Gastroenterology and is based on the original definition that was published in 2001 by the WHO and FAO. Also, it should be emphasised that certain strains of LAB are probiotics among strains of other microorganisms, that are not LAB, such as certain strains of bifidobacteria, lactococci, enterococci, pediococci, propionibacteria and even certain strains of Clostridium, Bacillus, Escherichia, Saccharomyces.
• The same ISAPP also published up-to-date consensus statements on the definitions of prebiotics (https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2017.75), synbiotics (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-020-0344-2), postbiotics (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-021-00440-6) and fermented foods (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-020-00390-5). The ISAPP also emphasized that the terms physicobiotics, immunobiotics, etc are all variations of probiotics, depending on their mode of action. This should also be mentioned.
• Another important factor is the meaning of probiotics. Only certain strains are probiotic microbes. The strain (or commercial product) that is labelled as a probiotic must have at least on quality double blind randomised controlled clinical study that exhibits a statistically significant difference in the group that was supplemented with probiotics compared to the placebo group. See Binda et al. 2020, published in Frontiers in Microbiology: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.01662/full. For example, Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG (previously known as Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG) is a well-known probiotic with several proven health benefits. However, this does not mean that all strains of the species Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus are probiotics, let alone all lactobacilli. The same applies for Limosilactobacillus reuteri
• Besides depression and other mental health issues, the strain Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 has also been found to reduce colic, regurgitation etc (https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10060970, https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13290)
• Line 52: the term ‘probioceutics’ is not found in literature, it should be replaced with a more common term ‘bacteriocin’, as reuterin is a well-known bacteriocin of Limosilactobacillus reuteri
• Line 140, add strain.
• Chapter 3 should be divided into two separate chapters: Results, Discussion as per the instructions for authors. A more in-depth discussion should

Only minor English corrections are needed.

Author Response

Please see the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf