Pulses are considered superfoods for the future world due to their properties, but they require processing to reduce antinutritional factors (ANFs) and increase bioactivity. In this study, bean flour (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) was fermented under different conditions (addition of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum CRL 2211 and/or Weissella paramesenteroides CRL 2182, temperature, time and dough yield) to improve its nutri-functional quality. Fermentation for 24 h at 37 °C with the mixed starter increased the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) population, acidity, polyphenol content (TPC) and ANF removal more than spontaneous fermentation. Statistical and rep-PCR analysis showed that fermentation was mainly conducted by Lp. plantarum CRL 2211. Metabolic modeling revealed potential cross-feeding between Lp. plantarum and W. paramesenteroides, while the molecular docking and dynamic simulation of LAB tannases and proteinases involved in ANF removal revealed their chemical affinity to gallocatechin and trypsin inhibitors. Fermentation was better than soaking, germination and cooking for enhancing bean flour properties: it increased the free amino acids content by 50% by releasing glutamine, glutamic acid, arginine, leucine and lysine and modified TPC by increasing gallic acid and decreasing caffeic, ferulic and vanillic acids and quercetin-3-glucoside. The combination of experimental and simulation data may help us to understand fermentation processes and to design products with desirable features.

Peas (Pisum sativum L.) serve as a significant source of plant-based protein, garnering consumer attention due to their high nutritional value and non-GMO modified nature; however, the beany flavor limits its applicability. In this study, the effects of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. Lactis 80 (Bla80) fermentation on the physicochemical characteristics, particle size distribution, rheological properties, and volatile flavor compounds of pea milk was investigated. After fermentation by Bla80, the pH of pea milk decreased from 6.64 ± 0.01 to 5.14 ± 0.01, and the (D4,3) distribution decreased from 142.4 ± 0.47 μm to 122.7 ± 0.55 μm. In addition, Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) fermentation significantly reduced the particle size distribution of pea milk, which was conducive to improving the taste of pea milk and also indicated that Bla80 had the probiotic potential of utilizing pea milk as a fermentation substrate. According to GC-MS analysis, 64 volatile compounds were identified in fermented pea milk and included aldehydes, alcohols, esters, ketones, acids, and furans. Specifically, aldehydes in treated samples decreased by 27.36% compared to untreated samples, while esters, ketones, and alcohols increased by 11.07%, 10.96%, and 5.19%, respectively. These results demonstrated that Bla80 fermentation can significantly decrease the unpleasant beany flavor, such as aldehydes and furans, and increase fruity or floral aromas in treated pea milk. Therefore, Bla80 fermentation provides a new method to improve physicochemical properties and consumer acceptance of fermented pea milk, eliminating undesirable aromas for the application of pea lactic acid bacteria beverage.

This study aimed to unleash the potential of indigenous lactic acid bacteria (LAB) originating from traditionally made Serbian goat cheese. Following the isolation and identification of the LAB, the safety aspects of the isolates were evaluated through tests for hemolytic activity and antibiotic sensitivity. The selected isolates were then tested for various technological properties, including growth in methylene blue, proteolytic activity, acidification, curd formation ability in both pure and enriched goat milk, diacetyl production, antagonistic potential against other LAB, and biofilm formation ability. The results indicated that Lactococcus spp., Lacticaseibacillus spp., and Lactiplantibacillus spp. did not exhibit α or β hemolysis, while enterococci displayed α hemolysis. A higher number of isolates demonstrated sensitivity to ampicillin, tetracycline, and streptomycin, while sensitivity to gentamicin and vancomycin was strain-dependent. Based on the evaluation of technological properties, Lacticaseibacillus paracasei M-1 and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum C7-7, C7-8, and C14-5 showed promising characteristics. Additionally, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis strains C0-14 and C21-8 emerged as promising candidates with notable technological properties. Notably, certain indigenous strains LAB exhibit promising technological properties and safety profiles. These characteristics make them suitable candidates for use as starter or adjunct cultures in goat\'s milk cheese production, potentially enhancing the quality and safety of the cheese as well as hygiene practices among small-scale dairy producers.

OBJECTIVE: Temperate phages insert their genome into the host\'s chromosome. As prophages, they remain latent in the genome until an induction event leads to lytic phage production. When this occurs in a starter culture that has been added to food fermentation, this can impair the fermentation success. This study aimed to analyze prophage inducibility in the Latilactobacillus curvatus TMW 1.591 strain during meat fermentation and investigate whether an induction signal before cryopreservation is maintained during storage and can lead to phage-induced lysis after culture activation.
RESULTS: A prophage-free isogenic derivative of the model starter organism, L. curvatus TMW 1.591, was developed as a negative control (L. curvatus TMW 1.2406). Raw meat fermentation was performed with the wild-type (WT) and phage-cured strains. The WT strain produced high numbers of phages (5.2 ± 1.8 × 107 plaque-forming units g-1) in the meat batter. However, the prophage did not significantly affect the meat fermentation process. Induction experiments suggested an acidic environment as a potential trigger for prophage induction. Phage induction by ultraviolet light before strain cryopreservation remains functional for at least 10 weeks of storage.
CONCLUSIONS: Intact prophages are active during meat fermentation. However, in this study, this has no measurable consequences for fermentation, suggesting a high resiliency of meat fermentation against phages. Inadequate handling of lysogenic starter strains, even before preservation, can lead to phage introduction into food fermentation and unintended host lysis.

Using treadmill training, this study replicated human exercise conditions and triggered exercise-induced fatigue in mice to examine the potential of Pediococcus pentosaceus YF01 in delaying this fatigue by regulating oxidative stress and its impact on the exercise capacity and gut microbiota of mice. The exercise capacity of mice was tested by conducting exhaustion tests, determining histopathological changes in mouse tissues, detecting the levels of serum biochemical markers, and evaluating the mRNA expression levels of relevant genes. YF01 prolonged the exhaustion time of mice, increased the serum levels of oxidative stress-related markers T-AOC, CAT, and GSH, as well as GLU and LA levels in the mice. YF01 decreased the levels of hepatic-related markers AST and ALT, as well as exercise-related markers LDH, BUN, UA, and CRE in the mice. YF01 upregulated the mRNA expression of MyHc I, SIRT1, and PGC in muscle tissues, as well as SOD1, SOD2, and CAT in both liver and muscle tissues. YF01 also downregulated the mRNA expression of MyHc IIa, MyHc IIb, and MyHc IIx in muscle tissues. Furthermore, YF01 increased the abundance of beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Lachnospiraceae in the gut microbiota of mice. In conclusion, P. pentosaceus YF01 may affect the exercise capacity of mice by modulating oxidative stress levels, thereby offering novel ideas for developing of sports science and human health.

Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) have a long history of safe use in milk fermentation and are generally recognized as health-promoting microorganisms when present in fermented foods. LAB are also important components of the human intestinal microbiota and are widely used as probiotics. Considering their safe and health-beneficial properties, LAB are considered appropriate vehicles that can be genetically modified for food, industrial and pharmaceutical applications. Here, this review describes (1) the potential opportunities for application of genetically modified LAB strains in dairy fermentation and (2) the various genomic modification tools for LAB strains, such as random mutagenesis, adaptive laboratory evolution, conjugation, homologous recombination, recombineering, and CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat)- Cas (CRISPR-associated protein) based genome engineering. Lastly, this review also discusses the potential future developments of these genomic modification technologies and their applications in dairy fermentations.

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are a type of bacteria that convert carbohydrates into lactate through fermentation metabolism. While LAB mainly acquire energy through this anaerobic process, they also have oxygen-consuming systems, one of which is flavoprotein oxidase and the other is exogenous heme- or heme- and quinone-dependent respiratory metabolism. Over the past two decades, research has contributed to the understanding of the roles of these oxidase machineries, confirming their suspected roles and uncovering novel functions. This review presents the roles of these oxidase machineries, which are anticipated to be critical for the future applications of LAB in industry and comprehending the virulence of pathogenic streptococci.

Kimoto-type Japanese rice wine (sake) has a wide variety of flavors, as the predominant microbes, including lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and nitrate-reducing bacteria, that spontaneously proliferate in the fermentation starter vary depending on the brewery. In this study, we traced the microbiota in four lots of starters manufactured in a newly established brewery and evaluated the lot-to-lot variation and characteristics of the microbiota in the brewery. The results of a 16S ribosomal RNA amplicon analysis showed that the starters brewed in the second brewing year had a more diverse microbiota than those in the first brewing year. Among the LAB predominated at the middle production stage, lactococci, including Leuconostoc spp., were detected in all the lots, while lactobacilli predominated for the first time in the second year. These results suggest that repeated brewing increased microbial diversity and altered the microbial transition pattern in the kimoto-style fermentation starters. Phylogenetic analyses for the LAB isolates from each starter identified Leuconostoc suionicum, Leuconostoc citreum, and Leuconostoc mesenteroides as predominant lactococci as well as a unique lactobacillus in place of Latilactobacillus sakei. We also found that a rice koji-derived Staphylococcus gallinarum with nitrate-reducing activity was generally predominant during the early production stage, suggesting that there was a case in which staphylococci played a role in nitrite production in the starters. These findings are expected to contribute to the understanding of the diversity of microbiota in kimoto-type sake brewing and enable control of the microbiota for consistent sake quality.

We previously showed through clinical trials that one plant-derived lactic acid bacteria (LAB) can improve constipation. We preliminarily found that the plant-derived LAB Lactococcus lactis BM32-1 can grow in a mixture of sericin and fibroin, which are extracted from silk and have been reported to help promote health. Thus, in the present study, we evaluated the favorable effect of a sericin/fibroin mixture (S/F-M), which was extracted from silk prepared from cocoons reared in an aseptic rearing system using an artificial diet, fermented with the BM32-1 strain through a clinical trial. The trial was conducted at Hiroshima University from June to October 2022 as a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized parallel-group comparative study with 50 eligible subjects (aged 23-71) who had an average defecation frequency of less than 5 times per week. The subjects were instructed to drink 100 mL of fermented S/F-M or placebo every day. After the 12 weeks of the clinical trial period, the average defecation frequency increased significantly-1.4 times higher than that at baseline in the test group-as compared with the placebo group. Furthermore, the fecal microbiota was also compared before and after treatment, revealing that intake of the fermented S/F-M significantly multiplied the relative abundance of the genera Enterococcus and Clostridium, which have been reported to contribute to the amelioration of constipation by improving the gut microbiota and producing butyric acid, respectively. In conclusion, the S/F-M fermented using the BM32-1 strain improves defecation frequency through alteration of the gut microbiota.

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are commonly used in fermented foods, and some LAB modulate the immune response. We aimed to investigate the mechanism by which LAB isolates from fermented Brassica rapa L. induce the production of anti-inflammatory interleukin (IL)-10 by the murine spleen and RAW264 cells. Spleen cells from BALB/c mice or the mouse macrophage cell line RAW264 were cultured with heat-killed LAB isolated from fermented B. rapa L., and the IL-10 level in the supernatant was measured. Latilactobacillus curvatus K4G4 provided the most potent IL-10 induction among 13 isolates. Cell wall components of K4G4 failed to induce IL-10, while treatment of the bacteria with RNase A under a high salt concentration altered K4G4 induction of IL-10 by spleen cells. In general, a low salt concentration diminished the IL-10 induction by all strains, including K4G4. In addition, chloroquine pretreatment and knock down of toll-like receptor 7 through small interfering RNA suppressed K4G4 induction of IL-10 production by RAW264 cells. Our results suggest that single-stranded RNA from K4G4 is involved, via endosomal toll-like receptor 7, in the induction of IL-10 production by macrophages. K4G4 is a promising candidate probiotic strain that modulates the immune response by inducing IL-10 from macrophages.