Abstract

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are heterogenous group of bacteria which plays a significant role in a variety of fermentation processes. They ferment food carbohydrates and produce lactic acid as the main product of fermentation. In addition, degradation of proteins and lipids and production of various alcohols, aldehydes, acids, esters and sulphur compounds contribute to the specific flavour development in different fermented food products. The main application of LAB is as starter cultures, with an enormous variety of fermented dairy (ie. cheese, yoghurt, fermented milks), meat, fish, fruit, vegetable and cereal products. Besides, they contribute to the flavour, texture and nutritional value of the fermented foods, and thus they are used as adjunct cultures. Acceleration of cheese maturation, enhancement of yoghurt texture with the production of exo polysaccharides and control of secondary fermentations in the production of wine are some examples. The production of bacteriocins and antifungal compounds has lead to the application of bio-protective cultures in certain foods. Moreover, the well-documented health-promoting properties of certain LAB have lead to the addition of selected strains, in combination with bifidobacteria, as probiotic cultures with various applications in food industry.

Keywords

lactic acid bacteria, applications, fermented foods