Development of Wide-Spectrum Hybrid Bacteriocins for Food Biopreservation

The food industry demands new procedures and methods to produce minimally processed, ready to eat food with intact nutritional, taste, and flavor properties. The biopreservation and the use of both bacteriocins produced by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and bacteriocinogenic strains as an alternative to substitute chemical antimicrobial for food preservation became increasingly important in the last two decades. When the new proposed natural preservatives techniques are applied, probiotics food can be obtained and, simultaneously, foodborne pathogens and spoilage contaminants can diminish. However, bacteriocins produced by LAB have a narrow antibacterial spectrum and are inactive against Gram-negative bacteria like Salmonella and the emergent enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli. Knowing the mechanism of action and the structural features of microcins synthesized by Gram-negative bacteria and with potent antimicrobial activity against the mentioned microorganism, the proposal is to obtain hybrid peptides (microcin–bacteriocin) with broad antimicrobial spectrum. This review explains how the inability of bacteriocins to cross the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria unable them to act on the bacteria. It will also be discussed how a hybrid bacteriocin can be obtained.     

Charakterisierung einiger Bacteriocine im Hinblick auf mögliche Anwendungen im Lebensmittelbereich. 1. Mitt. Stammauswahl

Characterization of some bacteriocins with regard to possible applications in food industry. Part 1. Selection of strains. The ability to produce bacteriocins is common in all genera of lactic acid bacteria. Thirty-four out of 223 strains of lactic acid bacteria from the culture collection of the University Potsdam produced bacteriocins active against one or more indicator strains. Seventeen Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains, frequent occur as spoilage bacteria in food industry, were chosen as indicator strains, and 11 of them were inhibited by one or several bacteriocin producers. Most of the bacteriocin producers belong to the genera Enterococcus or Lactobacillus. Bacteriocins derived from Enterococcus faecium and Pediococcus acidilactici exhibited the widest inhibitory spectrum. The properties of Enterococcus faecium 10.051 and Enterococcus faecium 10.211 bacteriocins were further investigated to evaluate their potential use as natural food preservatives. The bacteriocin produced by Enterococcus faecium 10.211 exhibited a very wide inhibitory spectrum against food-spoiling strains. It was heat stable (100 °C for 60 min) and stable in a wide range of pH (1.2–10.0). The bacteriocin produced by Enterococcus faecium 10.051 showed a smaller inhibitory spectrum, and it was less stable against temperature and pH as the bacteriocin from strain 10.211. Both bacteriocins were inactivated by proteinase K. pronase E, and α-chymotrypsin. Bacteriocin from strain 10.211 will be the object of further investigations for application of bacteriocins in food industry.     

Lactobacillus acidophilus: Characterization of the Species and Application in Food Production

L. acidophilus is a homofermentative, microaerophilic, short chain gram positive microorganism with rod morphology having its bacteriocins belonging to class II a. Several bacteriocins of L. acidophilus have been isolated and characterized. These are structurally similar, but their molecular weight varies as well as their spectrum of antimicrobial activity. They exhibit important technical properties, i.e., thermostability and retaining of activity at a wide pH range along with strong inhibitory actions against food spoilage and pathogenic bacteria make them an important class of biopreservatives. L. acidophilus can be added as an adjunct in many food fermentation processes contributing to unique taste, flavor, and texture. It also preserves the products by producing lactic acid and bacteriocins. A lot of new information regarding the bacteriocins of L. acidophilus has emerged during the last few years. In this review, an attempt has been made to summarize and discuss all the available information regarding the sources of bacteriocins production, their characteristics, and their antimicrobial action along with their application.     

Physical and nutritional conditions for optimized production of bacteriocins by lactic acid bacteria – A review

ABSTRACT

There has been an increasing debate about the use of synthetic chemical compounds and the consequences of their use in food preservation. In this context, the utilization of some natural compounds produced by bacteria, showing an inhibitory effect against microorganisms associated with food contamination, have gained attention as preservation technology. In order to improve the production and yield costs of bacteriocins, detailed studies are necessary to determine the conditions that allow an optimized production and extraction of bacteriocins from lactic acid bacteria (LAB). In this context, this article aims to discuss the information regarding the main factors that influence bacteriocin production by LAB. The biosynthesis of bacteriocins can be influenced by various culture conditions, such as the composition of the medium, pH, temperature and growth kinetics of the microorganisms. One of the limiting factors for the use of bacteriocins on a large scale in food preservation is the economic factor. In order for the production costs of bacteriocins to be reduced, making them attractive, it is necessary to know the optimum parameters of production, thus maximizing productivity and making costs more attractive.     

乳酸菌细菌素抑菌特性及在食品中的应用研究进展

乳酸菌细菌素是细菌在核糖体上合成的具有抗菌活性的多肽类物质,这些细菌素能杀灭或抑制引起食品腐败的细菌的繁殖,可作为天然的食品防腐剂在食品中应用。该文综述了乳酸菌细菌素的分类、国内外研究现状、抑菌特性及应用等方面的最新研究进展,并对乳酸菌细菌素未来研究趋势进行简要分析,对乳酸菌细菌素在食品中的应用有一定参考价值。     

提高乳酸菌细菌素合成量方法的研究进展

细菌素是某些细菌通过核糖体合成机制产生的蛋白质或多肽,能够抑制与其亲源关系相同或相近的微生物,某些细菌素在食品加工和发酵过程中能抑制致病菌和腐败菌。乳酸菌被认为是一般公认安全,其细菌素具有安全性高、稳定性好、抑菌谱广等优点,作为一种新型食品防腐剂备受关注,但商品化的乳酸菌细菌素十分有限,仅限于Nisin和Pediocin PA-1等少数几种,合成量低是细菌素在食品中应用受限的主要原因之一。从不同原料中筛选高产菌株、发酵培养基和发酵条件优化、诱变育种、原生质体融合、基因工程方法、群体感应系统调控六个方面,论述了增加乳酸菌细菌素合成量的方法,以期为实现乳酸菌细菌素的工业化生产提供一定的借鉴。     

Plantaricin bacteriocins: As safe alternative antimicrobial peptides in food preservation—A review

Many peptides are excreted by gram-positive (+) and gram-negative (−) bacteria, possessing antimicrobial properties, called bacteriocins. Common bacterial species produce bacteriocins are called lactic acid bacteria. Nowadays, plantaricins are natural antimicrobial peptides produced by Lactobacillus plantarum strains have obtained special attention. The L. plantarum and their bacteriocins have got great importance in different areas as food biopreservatives and/or starters in dairy products, meat products, and fish products also, were used for treating diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria that is, reducing symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome disease (IBS) and decreasing the number of colonies of pathogenic bacteria in the wound-burning model in mice. Moreover, plantaricins have got a potent protective role against urinary tract infection (UTI). Although there are many studies on the types of bacteriocins and their purification and uses, such as Nisin and Pediocin, there have been no reports in the literature on the characterizations, production, and purification of plantaricins. The present review aims to describe plantaricins and some of their features and applications in general. Also mentioned are the most common methods of isolation and purification.     

Bacteriocin-based strategies for food biopreservation

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. Several LAB bacteriocins offer potential applications in food preservation, and the use of bacteriocins in the food industry can help to reduce the addition of chemical preservatives as well as the intensity of heat treatments, resulting in foods which are more naturally preserved and richer in organoleptic and nutritional properties. This can be an alternative to satisfy the increasing consumers demands for safe, fresh-tasting, ready-to-eat, minimally-processed foods and also to develop "novel" food products (e.g. less acidic, or with a lower salt content). In addition to the available commercial preparations of nisin and pediocin PA-1/AcH, other bacteriocins (like for example lacticin 3147, enterocin AS-48 or variacin) also offer promising perspectives. Broad-spectrum bacteriocins present potential wider uses, while narrow-spectrum bacteriocins can be used more specifically to selectively inhibit certain high-risk bacteria in foods like Listeria monocytogenes without affecting harmless microbiota. Bacteriocins can be added to foods in the form of concentrated preparations as food preservatives, shelf-life extenders, additives or ingredients, or they can be produced in situ by bacteriocinogenic starters, adjunct or protective cultures. Immobilized bacteriocins can also find application for development of bioactive food packaging. In recent years, application of bacteriocins as part of hurdle technology has gained great attention. Several bacteriocins show additive or synergistic effects when used in combination with other antimicrobial agents, including chemical preservatives, natural phenolic compounds, as well as other antimicrobial proteins. This, as well as the combined use of different bacteriocins may also be an attractive approach to avoid development of resistant strains. The combination of bacteriocins and physical treatments like high pressure processing or pulsed electric fields also offer good opportunities for more effective preservation of foods, providing an additional barrier to more refractile forms like bacterial endospores as well. The effectiveness of bacteriocins is often dictated by environmental factors like pH, temperature, food composition and structure, as well as the food microbiota. Foods must be considered as complex ecosystems in which microbial interactions may have a great influence on the microbial balance and proliferation of beneficial or harmful bacteria. Recent developments in molecular microbial ecology can help to better understand the global effects of bacteriocins in food ecosystems, and the study of bacterial genomes may reveal new sources of bacteriocins.     

Class IIa bacteriocins from lactic acid bacteria: antibacterial activity and food preservation

In the last decade, a variety of ribosomally synthesized antimicrobial peptides, or bacteriocins, produced by lactic acid bacteria have been identified and characterized. As a result of these studies, insight has been gained into various fundamental aspects of biology and biochemistry such as bacteriocin processing and secretion, mechanisms of cell immunity, and structure-function relationships. In parallel, there has been a growing awareness that bacteriocins may be developed into useful antimicrobial food additives. Class IIa bacteriocins can be considered as the major subgroup of bacteriocins from lactic acid bacteria, not only because of their large number, but also because of their significant biological activities and potential applications. The present review provides an overview of the knowledge available for class IIa bacteriocins and discusses common features and recent findings concerning these substances. The activity and potential food applications of class IIa bacteriocins are a major focus of this review.     

Potential of bacteriocinogenic Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis inhabiting low pH vegetables to produce nisin variants

Antimicrobial behavior of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) has been explored since many years to assess their ability to produce bacteriocin, a natural preservative, to increase the shelf life of food. This study aims to characterize bacteriocin producing strains of lactic acid bacteria isolated from acidic to slightly acidic raw vegetables including tomato, bell pepper and green chili and to investigate their potential to inhibit food related bacteria. Among twenty nine LAB screened for antimicrobial activity, three exhibited antagonism against closely related bacterial isolates which was influenced by varying temperature and pH. They were identified up to strain level as Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis TI-4, L. lactis subsp. lactis CE-2 and L. lactis subsp. lactis PI-2 based on 16S rRNA gene sequence. Their spectrum of inhibition was observed against food associated strains of Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus. Moreover, L. lactis subsp. lactis PI-2 selected on the basis of higher antimicrobial activity was further evaluated for bacteriocin production which was detected as nisin A and nisin Z. These findings suggest the possible use of L. lactis strains of vegetable origin as protective cultures in slightly acidic as well as slightly alkaline food by the bio-preservative action of bacteriocins.     

Application of bacteriocins in vegetable food biopreservation

Bacteriocins are generally recognized as "natural" compounds able to influence the safety and quality of foods. In the past years, a lot of works have been aimed to the detection, purification and characterisation of bacteriocins, as well as to their use in food preservation strategies. A list of review articles dealing with the application of bacteriocins to the protection of foods of animal origin is also available in literature, but it lacks for a summary on the utilization of bacteriocins in vegetable foods. These biopreservatives can be used in a number of ways in food systems and this paper mainly focuses on the state-of-the-art application of bacteriocins from lactic acid bacteria (LAB) to promote the microbial stability of both fermented and non-fermented vegetable food products using bacteriocinogenic strains as starter cultures, protective cultures or co-cultures and the employment of pure bacteriocins as food additives. In addition, applications of bacteriocins from non-LAB are also reviewed. The scopes of future directions of research are summarised.     

Current Applications and Future Trends of Lactic Acid Bacteria and their Bacteriocins for the Biopreservation of Aquatic Food Products

This review emphasizes the importance of novel biopreservation strategies and their application to ensure seafood quality and safety especially within the context of increasing demand for minimally processed aquatic food products. The paper addresses the major hazards linked to spoilage and pathogenic bacteria found in fresh and processed aquatic foods, mainly ready-to-eat seafood subjected to short-term storage, and the biological strategies that can be used to minimize their growth. This is followed by an overview of current knowledge about the inhibiting bacteriocin-producing lactic acid bacteria isolated from aquatic food products or that is being evaluated for ensuring safety on seafood and seafood products as well as the characteristics of their bacteriocins. The different strategies for the biopreservation of aquatic food products, such as protective cultures or spray drying, and their current and future applications for the preservation of seafood products are also explored. Finally, novel antimicrobial active and intelligent packaging strategies based on antimicrobials film allowing controlled release of bacteriocins to refrigerated aquatic food products are also discussed.     

群体感应系统在乳酸菌产细菌素中的作用

许多乳酸菌能够产生抗菌活性肽——细菌素,细菌素具有不同的结构、作用方式、抑菌谱和效价,通常认为乳酸菌和其所产的细菌素都是安全的,乳酸菌所产细菌素作为天然食品防腐剂已显示了巨大的潜能。基于群体感应的细胞间交流已成为细菌素合成的关键调控机制,群体感应作为细胞密度函数,可使细菌素产生保持同步性。群体感应需通过信号分子介导感知菌体密度,信号分子随着菌体密度增加而增加,并激活信号转导级联使菌体产生细菌素。本文通过对乳酸菌群体感应信号分子种类、信号转导机制及群体感应系统对两类细菌素合成的调控进行综述,以初步了解群体感应系统在乳酸菌产细菌素过程中的作用机制。     

Preservation and fermentation: past,present and future

Preservation of food and beverages resulting from fermentation has been an effective form of extending the shelf-life of foods for millennia. Traditionally, foods were preserved through naturally occurring fermentations, however, modern large scale production generally now exploits the use of defined strain starter systems to ensure consistency and quality in the final product. This review will mainly focus on the use of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) for food improvement, given their extensive application in a wide range of fermented foods. These microorganisms can produce a wide variety of antagonistic primary and secondary metabolites including organic acids, diacetyl, CO2 and even antibiotics such as reuterocyclin produced by Lactobacillus reuteri. In addition, members of the group can also produce a wide range of bacteriocins, some of which have activity against food pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes and Clostridium botulinum. Indeed, the bacteriocin nisin has been used as an effective biopreservative in some dairy products for decades, while a number of more recently discovered bacteriocins, such as lacticin 3147, demonstrate increasing potential in a number of food applications. Both of these lactococcal bacteriocins belong to the lantibiotic family of posttranslationally modified bacteriocins that contain lanthionine, beta-methyllanthionine and dehydrated amino acids. The exploitation of such naturally produced antagonists holds tremendous potential for extension of shelf-life and improvement of safety of a variety of foods.     

Bacteriocins: safe, natural antimicrobials for food preservation.

Bacteriocins are antibacterial proteins produced by bacteria that kill or inhibit the growth of other bacteria. Many lactic acid bacteria (LAB) produce a high diversity of different bacteriocins. 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 preservative. Many bacteriocins have been characterized biochemically and genetically, and though there is a basic understanding of their structure-function, biosynthesis, and mode of action, many aspects of these compounds are still unknown. This article gives an overview of bacteriocin applications, and differentiates bacteriocins from antibiotics. A comparison of the synthesis. mode of action, resistance and safety of the two types of molecules is covered. Toxicity data exist for only a few bacteriocins, but research and their long-time intentional use strongly suggest that bacteriocins can be safely used.     

Production of Bioactive Peptides from Lactic Acid Bacteria: A Sustainable Approach for Healthier Foods

Traditional fermented foods where lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are present have been associated with beneficial effects on human health, and some of those benefits are related to protein‐derived products. Peptides produced by LAB have attracted the interest of food industries because of their diverse applications. These peptides include ribosomally produced (bacteriocins) and protein hydrolysates by‐products (bioactive peptides), which can participate as natural preservatives and nutraceuticals, respectively. It is essential to understand the biochemical pathways and the effect of growth conditions for the production of bioactive peptides and bacteriocins by LAB, in order to suggest strategies for optimization. LAB is an important food‐grade expression system that can be used in the simultaneous production of peptide‐based products for the food, animal, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. This review describes the multifunctional proteinaceous compounds generated by LAB metabolism and discusses a strategy to use a single‐step production process, using an alternative protein‐based media. This strategy will provide economic advantages in fermentation processes and will also provide an environmental alternative to industrial waste valorization. New technologies that can be used to improve production and bioactivity of LAB‐derived peptides are also analyzed.     

Antimicrobial‐Producing Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Raw Barley and Sorghum

From a total of four thousand presumed lactic acid bacteria, obtained from raw, unmalted sorghum and barley, 308 isolates were shown to exhibit inhibitory activity against the indicator strain Listeria innocua 4202. Six of these inhibitor‐producing isolates were selected for further study on the basis of their relatively wide antimicrobial spectrum, which showed that these producers inhibited several Gram‐positive bacteria, including a range of beer spoiling bacteria. The proteinaceous nature, anti‐microbial activity against closely related species, heat resistance and pH stability of the inhibitory substances produced by these six bacteria identified these compounds as bacteriocins. All six isolates were shown to secrete the inhibitory compounds into the cell free supernatants. Bacteriocins produced by five of the six producers were purified to homogeneity. Further analytic data was obtained for three of the inhibitory compounds by means of mass spectroscopy and/or N‐terminal amino acid sequencing.     

Comparative antimicrobial activity of enterocin L50, pediocin PA-1, nisin A and lactocin S against spoilage and foodborne pathogenic bacteria

The present work compares, under the same stated experimental conditions, the antimicrobial activity of crude and purified enterocin L50, pediocin PA-1, nisin A and lactocin S, produced by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from Spanish dry-fermented sausages. The bacteriocins were purified to homogeneity by ammonium sulphate precipitation, gel filtration (for lactocin S), and cation-exchange, hydrophobic-interaction, and reverse-phase-chromatography; high yields of pure bacteriocins were obtained. Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of pure enterocin L50, pediocin PA-1, nisin A and lactocin S was determined against a broad spectrum of Gram-positive bacteria, including spoilage and foodborne pathogenic bacteria. The purified bacteriocins showed a broad antimicrobial spectrum similar to that exerted by crude bacteriocins. Enterocin L50 and pediocin PA-1 were very active againstListeria monocytogenes, which was quite resistant to nisin A and lactocin S. Enterocin L50 also displayed antimicrobial activity againstStaphylococcus aureus,Clostridium perfringensandClostridium botulinum. However, these pathogens were weakly inhibited, or not at all, by the other pure bacteriocins.     

Nanostructures for delivery of natural antimicrobials in food

ABSTRACT

Natural antimicrobial compounds are a topic of utmost interest in food science due to the increased demand for safe and high-quality foods with minimal processing. The use of nanostructures is an interesting alternative to protect and delivery antimicrobials in food, also providing controlled release of natural compounds such as bacteriocins and antimicrobial proteins, and also for delivery of plant derived antimicrobials. A diversity of nanostructures are capable of trapping natural antimicrobials maintaining the stability of substances that are frequently sensitive to food processing and storage conditions. This article provides an overview on natural antimicrobials incorporated in nanostructures, showing an effective antimicrobial activity on a diversity of food spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms.