Bifidobacteria as Potential Functional Starter Cultures: A Case Study by MSc Students in Food Science and Technology (University of Foggia, Southern Italy)

Abstract

This research paper was the results of activity of MSc students of Food Science and Technology, attending the class “Biotechnology of Functional Starter”. Five strains of bifidobacteria (Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis; B. longum subsp. infantis; B. breve; B. animalis subsp. animalis; B. bifidum) were evaluated in order to assess their suitability as functional starter cultures, by studying the following technological and probiotic traits: growth at different temperatures, NaCl amounts and pH values; acidifying ability; metabolism (arginin deamination, esculin hydrolysis, acetoin production); survival at low pH and in presence of bile salts; hydrophobic properties; antibiotic resistance. After laboratory assays and strain selection through a multivariate analyses, it was highlighted that B. longum subsp. infantis and B. animalis subsp. lactis represent a good compromise as potential functional starter cultures, as B. animalis subp. lactis showed a high growth index at pH 5 and good values at 25?C and 30?C, as well as the minimal viability loss at pH 2.5. B. longum subsp. infantis DSMZ 20088 was the best microorganism for its growth index in presence of 6.5% of salt added and at 25?C and 30?C

Growth and Freeze-Drying Optimization of <i>Bifidobacterium crudilactis</i>

“…Bifidobacterium crudilactis FR62/B/3 exhibited an optimal pH of growth of 5.0. This pH is lower than the optimum pH range (5.5 -7.0) described in the literature for the majority of bifidobacteria [2] [19] [20]. However, a similar optimum pH has been reported for B. animalis subsp.…”

Suitability of Bifidobacterium spp. and Lactobacillus plantarum as Probiotics Intended for Fruit Juices Containing Citrus Extracts

“…lactis and B. longum subsp. infantis showed interesting probiotic traits (survival at pH 2.5 and with bile salts added) and promising technological properties (growth/survival under different conditions) (Bevilacqua and others ).…”

Exploitation of Absolute qPCR to Estimate Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium Count in Human Gut as Indicator of Diabetic Mellitus Complication

“…It has been proposed that lactobacilli can also be useful for controlling autoimmune diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), celiac disease, and type 1 diabetes [8,9]. Bifidobacterium is a pleomorphic rod, Gram-positive, non-spore forming, anaerobic, and used to be firstly named Bacillus Bifiduscommunis [10,11]. It has been shown that Bifidobacteria had different effects that promote health, that include the abstraction of procarcinogens, immunomodulation, banning of diarrhea and intestinal infections, and the synthesis of vitamins.…”