Editorial 2014

In 2002, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) published the ‘Guidelines for the Evaluation of Probiotics in Food’,and recommended the most widely accepted definition of the term ‘probiotic’ as ‘Live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit to the host’.(1) This definition encompasses the food well as the non-food applications of the term.

Human intervention studies are a requisite to justify prophylactic and therapeutic effects of probiotics. A Lactic Acid Bacterial (LAB) isolate obtained from chilli pickle has been identified as Pediococcus acidilactici MTCC5101 based on 16S rRNA gene sequence. It is a bile tolerant strain which produces Pediocin CP2 with a wide antibacterial range. Present study is focused on evaluation of probiotic potential of P. acidilactici MTCC5101 and its colonization in human gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Further in a pilot scale pre-clinical trial among 30 young anemic women, role of P. acidilactici MTCC5101 along with another probiotic Bacillus coagulans MTCC492 was assessed in absorption of therapeutic iron salt in human GI tract.

The survival and effect of free and calcium-induced alginate-starch encapsulated probiotic bacteria (Lactobacillus casei NCDC 298 and Lactobacillus acidophilus NCDC 15), on sensory attributes of quarg cheese were studied over 30 days of storage. The results showed that there were significant difference (p<0.05) in free and encapsulated probiotic cells for both the probiotic bacteria after 30 days of storage. There was increased survival of 1.5 and 1 log cell Number chargess of both Lactobacillus casei NCDC 298 and Lactobacillus acidophilus NCDC 15, respectively due to protection of cells by microencapsulation. The high survivability of encapsulated probiotic cells 8.88 log in case of NCDC 298 compared to 8.14 log cells for NCDC 15 during 30 days of storage of quarg cheese, indicates that Lactobacillus casei NCDC 298 can be effectively used as therapeutic dose in encapsulated form for the manufacture of probiotic quarg cheese.

Two indigenous human originated potentially probiotic cultures Lb. helveticus MTCC 5463 (LH) and Lb. rhamnosus 231 (LR231) were used to ferment milk and products were examined for their fermentation characteristics and sensory attributes. Lb. rhamnosus GG (LGG) and commercial dairy starter YC-381 (YC) were used as control. Decline in pH and corresponding increase titratable acidity of milk fermented by probiotic strains were similar to YC. Amongst the probiotic strains, LH was found to produce highest acid which was comparable to dairy starters. Viability of all probiotic organism did not differ significantly and remained above 8 log cfu/g in freshly fermented product. LH produced significantly higher lactic acid whereas the concentrations of the acetic acid did not vary among the probiotic strains and dairy. Highest viscosity of fermented product obtained with LGG, however, whey separation was not found to be affected. Milk fermented by probiotic organism are found to be comparable, in their sensorial attributes, to commercial dairy starters. Hence, the indigenous probiotic strains could be utilize as dairy starter to produce fermented milk

We determined some functional properties of species of Bacillus and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) previously isolated from tungrymbai and bekang, naturally fermented soybean foods of India which included enzymatic activities, production and degradation of poly-γ-glutamic acid (PGA), acidifying capacity, degradation of antinutritive factors, antimicrobial activities, ability to produce biogenic amines, degree of hydrophobicitys, antioxidant activity and total phenol contents of the products. Bacillus spp. showed wide spectrum of enzymatic activities. Bacillus subtilis TS1:B25 (tungrymbai) and B. subtilis BT:B9 (bekang) accounted for the highest production of PGA (2.8 mg/ml each) amongst the other strains tested. Though LAB showed antimicrobial activities, none of them produced bacteriocin and biogenic amines under the applied condition. Enterococcus faecium TM2:L6 (tungrymbai) and BAV:E2 (bekang) showed the highest degree of hydrophobicity of 72.7% and 71.6%, respectively. LAB strains were able to degrade phytic acid and oligosaccharides, showing their ability to degrade anti-nutritive factors. Tungrymbai and bekang possess antioxidant and free radical (DPPH and ABTS) scavenging activity. This is the first report on functional properties of tungrymbai and bekang.