Citation
ill D, Sugrue I, Arendt E et al. Recent advances in microbial fermentation for dairy and health [version 1; peer review: 3 approved]. F1000Research 2017, 6(F1000 Faculty Rev):751 (https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.10896.1)Abstract
Microbial fermentation has been used historically for the preservation of foods, the health benefits of which have since come to light. Early dairy fermentations depended on the spontaneous activity of the indigenous microbiota of the milk. Modern fermentations rely on defined starter cultures with desirable characteristics to ensure consistency and commercial viability. The selection of defined starters depends on specific phenotypes that benefit the product by guaranteeing shelf life and ensuring safety, texture, and flavour. Lactic acid bacteria can produce a number of bioactive metabolites during fermentation, such as bacteriocins, biogenic amines, exopolysaccharides, and proteolytically released peptides, among others. Prebiotics are added to food fermentations to improve the performance of probiotics. It has also been found that prebiotics fermented in the gut can have benefits that go beyond helping probiotic growth. Studies are now looking at how the fermentation of prebiotics such as fructo-oligosaccharides can help in the prevention of diseases such as osteoporosis, obesity, and colorectal cancer. The potential to prevent or even treat disease through the fermentation of food is a medically and commercially attractive goal and is showing increasing promise. However, the stringent regulation of probiotics is beginning to detrimentally affect the field and limit their application.Funder
Teagasc Walsh Fellowships; Science Foundation Ireland (SFI)Grant Number
SFI/12/RC/2273ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.10896.1
Scopus Count
Collections
The following license files are associated with this item:
- Creative Commons
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.