Antifungal Preservation of Food by Lactic Acid Bacteria

Abstract

Fungal growth and consequent mycotoxin release in food and feed threatens human health, which might even, in acute cases, lead to death. Control and prevention of foodborne poisoning is a major task of public health that will be faced in the 21st century. Nowadays, consumers increasingly demand healthier and more natural food with minimal use of chemical preservatives, whose negative effects on human health are well known. Biopreservation is among the safest and most reliable methods for inhibiting fungi in food. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are of great interest as biological additives in food owing to their Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) classification and probiotic properties. LAB produce bioactive compounds such as reuterin, cyclic peptides, fatty acids, etc., with antifungal properties. This review highlights the great potential of LAB as biopreservatives by summarizing various reported antifungal activities/metabolites of LAB against fungal growth into foods. In the end, it provides profound insight into the possibilities and different factors to be considered in the application of LAB in different foods as well as enhancing their efficiency in biodetoxification and biopreservative activities.

Dissecting of the AI-2/LuxS Mediated Growth Characteristics and Bacteriostatic Ability of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum SS-128 by Integration of Transcriptomics and Metabolomics

“…LAB have great potential in hindering the activity of pathogenic and spoilage bacteria in food systems by producing bacteriostatic compounds mainly composed of organic acids [ 4 , 33 ]. Thus, we compared the bacteriostatic ability of cell-free supernatant against E. coli , Shewanella baltica , Staphylococcus aureus and Acinetobacter johnsonii of L. plantarum SS-128 and Δ luxS /SS-128 ( Figure 2 d).…”

“…Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) comprise a huge group of safe and widespread microorganisms in nature, and they are primarily applied as starter cultures and probiotics [ 1 , 2 ]. LAB are apprehended as ideal candidates for commercial exploitation in food industry with their status recognized as Generally Regarded As Safe (GRAS) and Qualified Presumption of Safety (QPS) in the European Union [ 3 , 4 ]. Aside from the health-promoting and probiotic properties, certain LAB producing organic acids, including lactic acid and phenyllactic acid (PLA), are also associated with food industrial biotechnology, providing food preservation for biocatalysis [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ].…”

“…Aside from the health-promoting and probiotic properties, certain LAB producing organic acids, including lactic acid and phenyllactic acid (PLA), are also associated with food industrial biotechnology, providing food preservation for biocatalysis [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Today’s food industry faces the tremendous problem in producing goods that are not only productive, but also wholesome for customers, as well as longer-lasting [ 4 , 5 ]. Consequently, the scientific research in the potential of LAB as bio-preservatives has attracted continuous interest.…”

The Complex Role of Lactic Acid Bacteria in Food Detoxification

“…Synthetic antifungal preservatives such as benzoate, sorbate, and propionate have been implicated in health issues ranging from irritability and inattentiveness to cancer and damage to the nervous system. LAB are safer and more desirable antifungal preservatives [ 202 , 203 ]. The antifungal properties of LAB are two major and essentially different types: (i) inhibition of fungal growth and (ii) neutralization of mycotoxins.…”

Antifungal Mechanisms and Application of Lactic Acid Bacteria in Bakery Products: A Review

“…Therefore, investigating the application of antifungal LAB in bakery products has substantial value. While there are reviews on the application of antifungal LAB in foods, and mechanisms of antifungal substances, few of them have comprehensively focused on the application of LAB as biopreservatives in bakery products, and the antifungal mechanism of exopolysaccharides (EPS; Crowley et al, 2013a ; Chen et al, 2021b ; Nasrollahzadeh et al, 2022 ). The present review seeks to present an update on the antifungal compounds produced by LAB and their mechanism of action toward target fungi, factors affecting the production of antifungal compounds by LAB, and the application of LAB in bakery products.…”