Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) play a critical role in food production and health maintenance. There is an increasing interest in these species to reveal the many possible health benefits associated with them. The actions of LAB are species and strain specific, and depend on the amount of bacteria available in the gastrointestinal tract. Consumers are very concerned of chemical preservatives and processed foods. However, products with or processed with LAB are accepted as a natural way to preserve food and promote health. This paper aimed to review the recent data in regard to the role of probiotic LAB in the preservation of foods, in the immunomodulation in the gastrointestinal tract, and in its health benefits.The hypothetical first niche of the ancestral LAB is considered soil and plants and, subsequently, the gut of herbivorous animals [6]. The mammalian intestine is colonized by 100 trillions of microorganisms (called "microbiota") that are essential for health [7] [8]. The transition from soil and plants to the animal gut has three areas of genomic adaptation [9]: resistance to host barriers, adhesion to intestinal cells, and fermentation of some substrates in the gut. The membrane lipid composition is affected by low pH and bile salts. Microarray analysis has shown the expression of a glycerophosphatase in Lactobacillus reuteri after an acid shock, and an increase in the sensitivity to acid in Lactobacillus acidophilus [10]. Extracelullar lipopolysaccharides (LPS) also play a role in the resistance, but it is unclear [6]. The adhesion of LAB to intestinal cells is associated with the peristaltic flow, a good adherence capacity and the presence of mucins to protect and lubricate the epithelial surfaces [11]. Resident intestinal bacteria are able to inhibit the adherence of pathogenic bacteria to intestinal epithelial cells as a result of their ability to increase the production of intestinal mucins [12]. Lactobacillus plantarum increases the levels of expression of the mRNA of some mucins, inhibiting the cell attachment of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli [13] [14]. LAB have access to simple sugars and complex carbohydrates, so bacteria with genes involved in its degradation are probably in better condition to multiply in the gut [6].The resident gastrointestinal microbiota provide a microbial barrier against microbial pathogens [12]. Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium spp. of human intestinal origin produce antimicrobial substances that are active in vitro and in vivo against enteropathogenic microorganisms involved in diarrhea [15]; both genera have the capacity for interfering with or block the pathogenic process of enteric bacterial pathogens [12]. Strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus, L. johnsonii, L. rhamnosus, L. casei, L. acidophilus, and L. rhamnosus interfere with a wide range of pathogens, such as enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, enterohemorrhagic E. coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, and S. flexneri [16]-[22]. Blocking the process of pathogenicity of enteric pat...

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Dwarf elder (Sambucus ebulus L.) berries are rich in health-promoting phytochemicals such as polyphenols and anthocyanins, and display a significant antioxidant activity. They are also rich in two lectins (ebulin f and SELfd) that share amino acid sequence homology with the elderberry allergen Sam n1 present in Sambucus nigra pollen and fruits. Ebulin f displays toxicity by oral ingestion. This study was aimed at eliminating the toxicity of these lectins whilst having little or no effect on the antioxidant properties of dwarf elder berries. We thus investigated the potential effects of incubation in a boiling water bath of extracts from several parts of the plant on total polyphenol content, antioxidant activity, total anthocyanins, cyanidin-3-glycoside content, and the sensitivity of purified dwarf elder fruit lectins to a simulated gastric fluid. The study shows that five minutes of said heat treatment fully sensitized both lectins to pepsin digestion, whilst minimally reducing phenol and antioxidant as well as free radical scavenging activities to below 13%. It proved possible to eliminate the potential risks derived from the presence of lectins in dwarf elder juices without any significant reduction in the content of the antioxidant compounds. Dwarf elder berries may thus be a valuable nutritional source.

Sambucus (Adoxaceae) species have been used for both food and medicine purposes. Among these, Sambucus nigra L. (black elder), Sambucus ebulus L. (dwarf elder), and Sambucus sieboldiana L. are the most relevant species studied. Their use has been somewhat restricted due to the presence of bioactive proteins or/and low molecular weight compounds whose ingestion could trigger deleterious effects. Over the last few years, the chemical and pharmacological characteristics of Sambucus species have been investigated. Among the proteins present in Sambucus species both type 1, and type 2 ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs), and hololectins have been reported. The biological role played by these proteins remains unknown, although they are conjectured to be involved in defending plants against insect predators and viruses. These proteins might have an important impact on the nutritional characteristics and food safety of elderberries. Type 2 RIPs are able to interact with gut cells of insects and mammals triggering a number of specific and mostly unknown cell signals in the gut mucosa that could significantly affect animal physiology. In this paper, we describe all known RIPs that have been isolated to date from Sambucus species, and comment on their antiviral and entomotoxic effects, as well as their potential uses.