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Foods
Special Issues
Novel Research in Food Starter Cultures and Probiotic Bacteria
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Novel Research in Food Starter Cultures and Probiotic Bacteria

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 September 2021) | Viewed by 15736

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Giovanna Felis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona, Italy
Interests: microbial taxonomy; microbial agro-food biotechnology; microbiomes
Dr. Elisa Salvetti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
Interests: taxonomy; culture collections; genotype–phenotype matching; safety assessment; regulation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

The study of microbiomes and their ecology is unravelling new information regarding the biodiversity related to a particular niche (agro-food and/or human-related) and provides new data on the players that can be exploited to develop new products and/or improve their quality. Thus, food systems have much to gain from microbiome studies, transforming potential bioresources in new and/or improved starter/adjunct cultures and probiotics. 

Sequencing strategies (e.g., single-cell genomics, metabarcoding, metagenomics) and related bioinformatic approaches are key to the discovery step and to the evaluation of the impact of new culture applications, while the isolation and preservation of strains in culture collections is pivotal to permit the valorization of strain genetic potential. Further, fair regulation is of utmost importance to (i) guarantee sustainable exploitation of microbial diversity coming from different countries (Nagoya protocol), and (ii) support innovation introduced by the use of new genetic resources, guaranteeing safer and improved food/feed products and supplements (regulated products and market authorization).

Finally, consumers’ perspective ideally closes the food system circular perspective, being their preferences the driver of the food and health value chain. 

This special issue aims at collecting contributions in the different depicted areas: experimental researches as well as reviews and opinion papers are welcome dealing with basic and applied research on (i) microbial biodiversity discovery and (ii) application for safer, tastier and more nutritious food, feed and supplement formulations, (iii) technology transfer, (iv) regulatory issues and (v) consumers’ science to contribute to the definition of a systemic view on microbial bioresources as starter cultures and health-related applications in the one health perspective. 

Prof. Dr. Giovanna Felis
Dr. Elisa Salvetti
Guest Editors

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

  • starter cultures
  • probiotics
  • safety
  • efficacy
  • sensory attributes
  • technological robustness
  • consumer perception
  • regulation

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 3066 KiB  
Article
Molecular Identification and Selection of Probiotic Strains Able to Reduce the Serum TMAO Level in Mice Challenged with Choline
by Latha Ramireddy, Hau-Yang Tsen, Yu-Chen Chiang, Chen-Ying Hung, Shih-Rong Wu, San-Land Young, Jin-Seng Lin, Chien-Hsun Huang, Shih-Hau Chiu, Chien-Chi Chen and Chih-Chieh Chen
Foods 2021, 10(12), 2931; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10122931 - 27 Nov 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3356
Abstract
Trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) originates from trimethylamine (TMA), which is oxidized in the liver by hepatic flavin-containing monooxygenases (FMO3). TMA is produced by its dietary precursors such as choline, carnitine, and phosphatidylcholine by gut microbiota. TMAO attracts attention, identified as a novel and independent [...] Read more.
Trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) originates from trimethylamine (TMA), which is oxidized in the liver by hepatic flavin-containing monooxygenases (FMO3). TMA is produced by its dietary precursors such as choline, carnitine, and phosphatidylcholine by gut microbiota. TMAO attracts attention, identified as a novel and independent risk factor for promoting obesity, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease (CVD), chronic kidney disease (CKD), insulin tolerance, and colon cancer. Probiotics have been considered as live microorganisms, providing benefits to their host when they are given in sufficient quantities and administered continuously. The objective of this study is to suggest a method to select potential probiotic strains to reduce the serum concentration of TMAO in mice fed with choline. In this work, we chose three lactobacilli with strong adherence capability, and fed multistrain formula (MF) to the mice challenged with choline. On days 7, 14, and day 28, it was found that the MF-containing L. amylovorus LAM1345, Lpb. plantarum LP1145, and Lim. fermentum LF33 showed a significant reduction in serum TMAO and TMA levels. For the single strains, LP1145 reduced TMAO on days 14 and 28, and strain LAM1345 reduced TMAO significantly on days 7 and day 14. For strain LF1143 from strain LF33, it showed no significant effect on TMAO and TMA. Thus, MF showed the best effect, which may be due to the additive and synergetic effect and the contribution of strain LP1145 and LAM1345. Finally, for the LAM1345 and LP1145 strains, we used molecular identification and typing methods to assure that these two strains are unique strains. The methods used for LAM 1345 were leader peptidase A (lepA) gene analysis and phylogenetic analysis, while for strain LP 1145and other strains of Lpb. plantarum subsp. plantarum sequences were compared using the whole-genome multilocus sequence typing (wgMLST) method. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Research in Food Starter Cultures and Probiotic Bacteria)
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21 pages, 2216 KiB  
Article
Non-Alcoholic Pearl Millet Beverage Innovation with Own Bioburden: Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Pediococcus pentosaceus and Enterococcus gallinarum
by Victoria A. Jideani, Mmaphuti A. Ratau and Vincent I. Okudoh
Foods 2021, 10(7), 1447; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10071447 - 22 Jun 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4339
Abstract
The appropriate solution to the problem of quality variability and microbial stability of traditional non-alcoholic pearl millet fermented beverages (NAPMFB) is the use of starter cultures. However, potential starter cultures need to be tested in the production process. We aimed to identify and [...] Read more.
The appropriate solution to the problem of quality variability and microbial stability of traditional non-alcoholic pearl millet fermented beverages (NAPMFB) is the use of starter cultures. However, potential starter cultures need to be tested in the production process. We aimed to identify and purify bioburden lactic acid bacteria from naturally fermented pearl millet slurry (PMS) and assess their effectiveness as cultures for the production of NAPMFB. Following the traditional Kunun-zaki process, the PMS was naturally fermented at 37 °C for 36 h. The pH, total titratable acidity (TTA), lactic acid bacteria (LAB), total viable count (TVC) and the soluble sugar were determined at 3 h interval. The presumptive LAB bacteria were characterized using a scanning electron microscope, biochemical tests and identified using the VITEK 2 Advanced Expert System for microbial identification. The changes in pH and TTA followed a non-linear exponential model with the rate of significant pH decrease of 0.071 h−1, and TTA was inversely proportional to the pH at the rate of 0.042 h−1. The Gompertz model with the mean relative deviation modulus, 0.7% for LAB and 2.01% for TVC explained the variability in microbial growth during fermentation. The LAB increased significantly from 6.97 to 7.68 log cfu/mL being dominated by Leuconostoc, Pediococcus, Streptococcus and Enterococcus with an optimum fermentation time of 18 h at 37 °C and 4.06 pH. L. mesenteroides and P. pentosaceus created an acidic environment while E. gallinarum increased the pH of the pearl millet extract (PME). Innovative NAPMFB was produced through assessment of LAB from PMS to PME fermented with L. mesentoroides (0.05%) and P. pentosaceus (0.025%) for 18 h, thereby reducing the production time from the traditional 24 h. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Research in Food Starter Cultures and Probiotic Bacteria)
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12 pages, 8332 KiB  
Article
Arthrospira platensis Extract: A Non-Invasive Strategy to Obtain Adjunct Attenuated Cultures
by Elena Bancalari, Francesco Martelli, Benedetta Bottari, Erasmo Neviani and Monica Gatti
Foods 2021, 10(3), 588; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10030588 - 11 Mar 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1963
Abstract
This study aims at proposing the use of Arthrospira platensis, commonly known as Spirulina, extract as a non-invasive method to attenuate the growth rate of non-starter adjunct cultures, thus preventing the over-acidification that may occur during cheese manufacturing. A preliminary screening using four [...] Read more.
This study aims at proposing the use of Arthrospira platensis, commonly known as Spirulina, extract as a non-invasive method to attenuate the growth rate of non-starter adjunct cultures, thus preventing the over-acidification that may occur during cheese manufacturing. A preliminary screening using four different concentrations (0.20%, 0.30%, 0.50%, and 0.70%) of A. platensis extract and four starter and three non-starter lactic acid bacteria strains was performed by impedometric analysis. This allowed us to select one starter and one non-starter strain to be used in the in vitro simulation of a co-culture in milk with the best antimicrobial concentration (0.3%). The growth dynamics of the two selected strains, starter Lactococcus lactis 1426 and non-sarter Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus 1473, co-cultured for 120 h was monitored by three different approaches: (i) plate counting on M17, for the enumeration of lactococci, and MRS for lactobacilli; (ii) fluorescence microscopic counting of viable and non-viable coccoid Lactococcus lactis 1426 and rod-shaped Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus 1473 cells; (iii) the overall estimation of co-culture growth behavior by impedometric parameters Lag, Rate, and yEnd. All the data obtained from the in vitro simulation were in agreement, revealing that a slowdown of non-starter growth occurred, while the starter strain was not affected, or slightly stimulated, from the antimicrobial presence. In particular, the growth of Lb. rhamnosus 1473 was delayed without adversely compromise the cells’ integrity, connected with metabolic functions, showing a great potential for use in cheese production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Research in Food Starter Cultures and Probiotic Bacteria)
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Review

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16 pages, 1031 KiB  
Review
Autochthonous Biological Resources for the Production of Regional Craft Beers: Exploring Possible Contributions of Cereals, Hops, Microbes, and Other Ingredients
by Nicola De Simone, Pasquale Russo, Maria Tufariello, Mariagiovanna Fragasso, Michele Solimando, Vittorio Capozzi, Francesco Grieco and Giuseppe Spano
Foods 2021, 10(8), 1831; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10081831 - 7 Aug 2021
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 4870
Abstract
Selected biological resources used as raw materials in beer production are important drivers of innovation and segmentation in the dynamic market of craft beers. Among these resources, local/regional ingredients have several benefits, such as strengthening the connection with territories, enhancing the added value [...] Read more.
Selected biological resources used as raw materials in beer production are important drivers of innovation and segmentation in the dynamic market of craft beers. Among these resources, local/regional ingredients have several benefits, such as strengthening the connection with territories, enhancing the added value of the final products, and reducing supply costs and environmental impacts. It is assumed that specific ingredients provide differences in flavours, aromas, and, more generally, sensory attributes of the final products. In particular, of interest are ingredients with features attributable and/or linked to a specific geographical origin. This review encompasses the potential contribution and exploitation of biodiversity in the main classes of beer inputs, such as cereals, hops, microbes, and adjuncts, with a specific emphasis on autochthonous biological resources, detailing the innovative paths already explored and documented in the scientific literature. This dissertation proposes an overview of the impact on beer quality for each raw material category, highlighting the benefits and limitations that influence its concrete applications and scale-up, from the field to the stain. The topics explored promote, in the sector of craft beers, trends already capitalised in the production of other alcoholic beverages, such as the preservation and revalorisation of minor and autochthonous varieties, the exploitation of yeast and bacteria strains isolated from specific sites/plant varieties, and the valorisation of the effects of peculiar terroirs on the quality of agricultural products. Finally, the examined tendencies contribute toward reducing the environmental impacts of craft beer manufacturing, and are in line with sustainable development of food systems, increasing the economic driver of biodiversity preservation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Research in Food Starter Cultures and Probiotic Bacteria)
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