Ninety one samples of traditional fermented foods were collected from 20 Ecuadorian provinces. In order to identify strains with potential use as starter cultures in fermented foods, 119 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains were isolated and characterized by phenotypic tests and 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequencing. Forty seven percent of isolates were identified as facultative heterofermentative ...

Bacterial starters have been developed for various fermented cereal products to improve their sensory and technological qualities. The earliest production of fermented foods was based on spontaneous fermentation due to the development of the microflora naturally present in the raw material. The quality of the end product was dependent on the microbial load and spectrum of the raw material. The ...

Lactobacilli with tannase activity were isolated from human feces and fermented foods. A PCR-based taxonomic assay revealed that the isolates belong to Lactobacillus plantarum, L. paraplantarum, and L. pentosus. Additional studies on a range of Lactobacillus species from established culture collections confirmed that this enzymatic activity is a phenotypic property common to these three species.

Bacteriocins are ribosomally synthesized peptides or proteins with antimicrobial activity, produced by different groups of bacteria. Many lactic acid bacteria (LAB) produce bacteriocins with rather broad spectra of inhibition. Though these bacteriocins are produced by LAB found in numerous fermented and non-fermented foods, nisin is currently the only bacteriocin widely used as a food preservat...

The association between consumption of full-fat dairy foods and CVD may depend partly on the nature of products and may not apply to low-fat dairy foods. Increased circulating levels of inflammatory biomarkers after consumption of dairy product-rich meals suggest an association with CVD. In the present study, we tested the effects of low-fat and full-fat dairy diets on biomarkers associated wit...

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are the primary microorganisms used to ferment maize-, sorghum- or millet-based foods that are processed in West Africa. Fermentation contributes to desirable changes in taste, flavour, acidity, digestibility and texture in gruels (ogi, baca, dalaki), doughs (agidi, banku, komé) or steam-cooked granulated products (arraw, ciacry, dégué). Similar to other fermented cer...

Phage ecology has attracted increasing attention in recent years. Fermented foods have rich and diverse microbial communities, which are not only the creators of unique flavors food, but also good hosts for bacteriophages. However, at present, much is known about bacterial fungal communities their functions fermented foods, little bacteriophages that inhabit bacteria. This article reviews findi...