Impact of Bacillus in fermented soybean foods on human health

Abstract

Purpose Fermented soybean foods (FSF) is popularly consumed in the South-East Asian countries. Bacillus species, a predominant microorganism present in these foods, have demonstrated beneficial and deleterious impacts on human health. These microorganisms produce bioactive compounds during fermentation that have beneficial impacts in improving human health. However, the health risks associated with FSF, food pathogens, biogenic amines (BAs) production, and late-onset anaphylaxis, remain a concern. The purpose of this review is to present an in-depth analysis of positive and negative impacts as a result of consumption of FSF along with the measures to alleviate health risks for human consumption. Methods This review was composed by scrutinizing contemporary literature of peer-reviewed publications related to Bacillus and FSF. Based on the results from academic journals, this review paper was categorized into FSF, role of Bacillus species in these foods, process of fermentation, beneficial, and adverse influence of these foods along with methods to improve food safety. Special emphasis was given to the potential benefits of bioactive compounds released during fermentation of soybean by Bacillus species. Results The nutritional and functional properties of FSF are well-appreciated, due to the release of peptides and mucilage, which have shown health benefits: in managing cardiac disease, gastric disease, cancer, allergies, hepatic disease, obesity, immune disorders, and especially microbial infections due to the presence of probiotic property, which is a potential alternative to antibiotics. Efficient interventions were established to mitigate pitfalls like the techniques to reduce BAs and food pathogens and by using a defined starter culture to improve the safety and quality of these foods. Conclusion Despite some of the detrimental effects produced by these foods, potential health benefits have been observed. Therefore, soybean foods fermented by Bacillus can be a promising food by integrating effective measures for maintaining safety and quality for human consumption. Further, in vivo analysis on the activity and dietary interventions of bioactive compounds among animal models and human volunteers are yet to be achieved which is essential to commercialize them for safe consumption by humans, especially immunocompromised patients.

Analysis of Industrial Bacillus Species as Potential Probiotics for Dietary Supplements

“…Bacillus biofilm formation supports the host organism against the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), urogenital tract (UGT), and urinary tract (UT) infections, while modulating immune system activity [ 2 ]. Our further analyses revealed that B. amyloliquefaciens also form biofilms ( Supplementary Figure S4 ).…”

“…A considerable group of bacterial probiotics is based on the Bacillus genus, with commonly mentioned B. subtilis , B. coagulans , B. pumilus , B. licheniformis , and B. clausii [ 1 ]. These species are a field of rising scientific interest and they offer a potential for industrial applications, being commonly found in the Asian and West African Bacillus fermented foods (BFFs), based on soybeans and locust beans [ 2 ]. Bacillus species are also promising and particularly important for an fast growing group of lactose-intolerant individuals.…”

Metagenomic-Metabolomic Mining of Kinema, a Naturally Fermented Soybean Food of the Eastern Himalayas

“…Intra/inter-species diversity of Bacillus, both culturable and unculturable, in kinema exists and co-exists for the survival and competition among different species. The dominance of Bacillus in fermented soybean foods is probably due to the alkalinity of the product during fermentation (Gopikrishna et al, 2021) and also its proteolytic activity (Nguyen and Nguyen, 2020). Predominant Bacillus with different species has been reported in other Asian fermented soybean foods such as cheonggukjang (Nam et al, 2012;Tamang et al, 2022), natto (Kubo et al, 2011), pe poke (Tamang et al, 2021b), douchi (Hu et al, 2019), and thua nao (Pakwan et al, 2020).…”

Effects of Bacillus subtilis natto JLCC513 on gut microbiota and intestinal barrier function in obese rats

“…This strain has strong acid and heat tolerance, can successfully reach the intestinal tract, regulate gut microbiota disorders and has many biological functions, such as reducing blood lipids, thrombolytic and anti‐inflammation (Peng et al, 2012). It is reported that the extract from peanut meal fermented with Bacillus natto can protect intestinal barrier, improve epithelial function and promote intestinal health in hyperlipidaemic mice (Gopikrishna et al, 2021).…”