Degradation of cassava linamarin by lactic acid bacteria

Selection criteria for lactic acid bacteria to be used as starter cultures for various food commodities

“…In order to determine the most suitable carbon substrate for maximum linamarase production, it was found that linamarase seems to be a constitutive enzyme in Lb. plantarum A6 and that the amount of enzyme can be increased by induction (Table 9) [35]. Furthermore, useful reductions in oligosaccharide and phytate concentrations were observed in fermenting peas, lentils and chick peas with a mixture of two strains of Lb.…”

“…For instance, roots of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) contain large amounts of cyanoglycosides, yet cassava represents the staple food of over 500 million people in developing countries. Because of the high level of toxicity, most processes for preparing traditional cassava-based foods include more or less intensive stages of Acetone fermentation to eliminate these substances [34,35], but additionally for starch breakdown, acidification and flavour development [33]. The most important cyanoglycoside is linamarin (96% of the total content) which can be destroyed in the presence of linamarase, released from the plant cells when the structure is damaged.…”

“…Given the assumption that selected strains of Leuconostoc mesenteroides are suitable to improve product quality and uniformity of sauerkraut [15,41], research was undertaken to find bacteriocin-producing strains with a selective advantage over competing but sensitive strains. Since these investigations failed, a new approach Table 9 Linamarase activities of Lactobacillus plantarum A6 cultured on different carbon sources [35] Carbon source Linamarase (U (g dry biomass)-t) was developed using a paired starter-culture system, consisting of a nisin-resistant L. mesenteroides strain and a nisin-producing Lactococcus lactis strain, both of which were isolated from commercial sauerkraut fermentations [40].…”

The effects of processing techniques in reducing cyanogen levels during the production of some Cameroonian cassava foods

“…It has long been assumed that cassava fermentation is one of the principle mechanisms of cyanide removal, supported by the reported ability of certain organisms to hydrolyse linamarin (Okafor and Ejiofor, 1986;Giraud et al, 1992). Despite the fact that the presence of natural flora has the ability to hydrolyse linamarin, it has been shown that this is not a prerequisite for linamarin elimination (Vasconcelos et al, 1990;Westby, 2002).…”

Characterization of amygdalin-degrading Lactobacillus species

“…dimethyl) cyanogenic (mono) glucoside that is similar in structure to prunasin (i.e. D-mandelonitrile b-D-glucoside) (Giraud et al 1992). In that study, Lact.…”