Food Microbiology and Healthcare

An ecosystem of increasing importance is the gastrointestinal tract, particular in what respects the use of probiotic LAB in our daily diet. We have been screening LAB for their probiotic aptitude, as well as for the production of anti-oxidants and antimicrobials. In other words we have been gathering information to further evaluate if these living bacteria may improve the health of the table-olive’s consumer, beyond the normal diet. If so, certain types of table olives could be classified as symbiotic food products (combining probiotics and prebiotics) and also as functional foods. These aspects would further valorize traditional products present in the Mediterranean diet. We have been collecting information for in-depth studies on the inhibitory effects of LAB towards Helicobacter pylori. Bacteriocins may play an important role in this context as it is undeniably that many members of the genus Lactobacillus produce bacteriocins.

Figure 3.: The ulcer causing bacterium Helicobacter pylori.
Image courtesy of LumeRX.©

Since bacteriocin resistance mechanisms are distinct from those of antibiotics and aren’t genetically transferred, healthcare applications have been considered. Existing know-how on the optimization of physical and nutritional factors for “in-vitro” bacteriocin production and the development of mathematical models describing bacterial growth and bacteriocin production will be of valuable use for the development of these new biotherapeutic agents. However, up to now no bacteriocins were shown among commercially available probiotic lactic acid bacterial strains. Thus, further studies will involve the analysis of the antagonistic compounds from the probiotic LAB strains (mostly Lactobacillus spp.), in order to get scientific support for commercial application.