Pediococcus pentosaceus LBM 18 has shown potential as producer of an antibacterial and antifungal bacteriocin-like inhibitory substance (BLIS). BLIS inhibited the growth of spoilage bacteria belonging to Lactobacillus, Enterococcus and Listeria genera with higher activity than Nisaplin used as control. It gave rise to inhibition halos with diameters from 9.70 to 20.00 mm, with Lactobacillus sakei being the most sensitive strain (13.50-20.00 mm). It also effectively suppressed the growth of fungi isolated from corn grain silage for up to 25 days and impaired morphology of colonies by likely affecting fungal membranes. these results point out that P. pentosaceus BLIS may be used as a new promising alternative to conventional antibacterial and antifungal substances, with potential applications in agriculture and food industry as a natural bio-controlling agent. Moreover, cytotoxicity and cell death induction tests demonstrated cytotoxicity and toxicity of BLiS to human colon adenocarcinoma caco-2cells but not to peripheral blood mononuclear cells, with suggests possible applications of BLIS also in medical-pharmaceutical applications. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are a group of well-distributed microorganisms in nature 1-3 having lactic acid as the major product of sugar fermentation 4,5. They are Gram-positive, non-pathogenic, non-sporulating, facultative anaerobic, catalase negative and acid tolerant bacteria with a strictly fermentative metabolism 3,6 , which are often used as industrial starter cultures in food fermentation technology 7,8. Their metabolic products are recognized as Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and recommended by the Qualified Presumption of Safety (QPS) list of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) 9. This means that they can be safely used to preserve foods 10,11 , hence offering important benefits to the food industry 12. From the technology point of view, the most important genera of LAB are Aerococcus, Carnobacterium,