Exopolysaccharide and lactic acid bacteria: Perception, functionality and prospects

Vivek K Bajpai,Yong-Ha Park,R C Dubey,Kangmin Kim,D K Maheshwari,Sun Chul Kang,Rajib Majumder,Irfan A Rather,Shruti Shukla,Abhinav Aeron,Jeongheui Lim

doi:10.3329/bjp.v11i1.23819

Abstract

<p class="Abstract">Lactic acid bacteria exhibit the most effective potential to divert significant amount of fermentable sugars towards the biosynthesis of functional exopolysaccharide. Exopolysaccharides from lactic acid bacteria are receiving a renewed interest due to the claims of human health benefits. This review provides an update on multiple uses and production of exopolysaccharides with major emphasis on their chemical properties, characterization, and some other molecular strategies adopted for their genetics and biological tailoring to better understand the process of exopolysaccharide production along with their antiviral efficacy with multiple modes of action. Additionally, microbiological, biochemical, nutritional and biotechnological aspects of exopolysaccharide production have also been discussed. Moreover, appro-priate suggestions have been made on lactic acid bacteria improvements, leading to enhanced production with advanced modification and production process that may contribute to the economic soundness of applications in food and pharmacological industries with this promising group of biomolecules.</p><p> </p>

Highlights

Overview of exopolysaccharideLactic acid bacteria are widely exploited in medicine, and traditional dairy products, as well as in biotechnological and industrial fermentation processes as a wellestablished starter culture (Park, 2001; Savadogo et al, 2004; Park et al, 2008; Kim et al, 2013a; Rather et al, 2013; Park et al, 2014)
There is no confirmed reports available on the harmful effects of lactic acid bacteria so far, they are classified as Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) microorganisms (Yadav et al, 2011)
A number of microbial species such as Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactococcus lactis, L. delbrueckii, and Lactobacillus helveticus have been well recognized with an ability to produce heteroexopolysaccharides (Mozzi et al, 2006) In addition, lactic acid bacteria of homo-fermentative nature are well known for their ability to produce hetero-EPS, whereas, a hetero-fermentative strain L. fermentum has been found to produce exopolysaccharide with confirmed chemical nature determination (Leo et al, 2007)

Summary

Introduction

Overview of exopolysaccharideLactic acid bacteria are widely exploited in medicine, and traditional dairy products, as well as in biotechnological and industrial fermentation processes as a wellestablished starter culture (Park, 2001; Savadogo et al, 2004; Park et al, 2008; Kim et al, 2013a; Rather et al, 2013; Park et al, 2014). This overview provides recent advancements on the knowledge of functional properties of lactic acid bacteria-derived classified exopolysaccharides, their chemical nature, molecular characterization, genetic synthesis and applications in medical and industrial sector with specially emphasis on their future prospects.

Results

Conclusion