Abstract
Fermented foods identify cultures and civilizations. History, climate and the particulars of local production of raw materials have urged humanity to exploit various pathways of fermentation to produce a wide variety of traditional edible products which represent adaptations to specific conditions. Nowadays, industrial-scale production has flooded the markets with ferments. According to recent estimates, the current size of the global market of fermented foods is in the vicinity of USD 30 billion, with increasing trends. Modern challenges include tailor-made fermented foods for people with special dietary needs, such as patients suffering from Crohn’s disease or other ailments. Another major challenge concerns the safety of artisan fermented products, an issue that could be tackled with the aid of molecular biology and concerns not only the presence of pathogens but also the foodborne microbial resistance. The basis of all these is, of course, the microbiome, an aggregation of different species of bacteria and yeasts that thrives on the carbohydrates of the raw materials. In this review, the microbiology of fermented foods is discussed with a special reference to groups of products and to specific products indicative of the diversity that a fermentation process can take. Their impact is also discussed with emphasis on health and oral health status. From Hippocrates until modern approaches to disease therapy, diet was thought to be of the most important factors for health stability of the human natural microbiome. After all, to quote Pasteur, “Gentlemen, the microbes will have the last word for human health.” In that sense, it is the microbiomes of fermented foods that will acquire a leading role in future nutrition and therapeutics.
Highlights
Starter cultures are available which do not have the ability to produce most of these mycotoxins, and the presence of roquefortine C and isofumigaclavines in the amounts usually found on cheeses does not seem to represent a risk for human health [146]
The findings of the study by Suharja et al (2012) are presented [162], who studied the viability of probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001 in fermented milk with and without Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. bayanus EC-1118.The authors demonstrated that the yeast supernatant was able to enhance the survival of the tested bacteria in the process and expressed the hope that the findings would help develop novel microbial starter technology for ambient-stable fermented milks with live probiotics
The results indicate the potential use of L. plantarum UFG
Summary
Modern science recognizes more than one type of fermentation, a general definition should define fermentation as a biochemical process through which most microorganisms decompose carbohydrates to produce energy under anaerobic conditions [3,4,5]. According to Pasteur, “Fermentation is life in the absence of oxygen” [1] In this somewhat obscure and phenomenological term, various types of fermentation are included, such as yeast fermentation, lactic acid fermentation, butyric acid fermentation, propionic acid fermentation and acetic acid fermentation. The end products depend on the substrate as well as the microorganism species and strain (Figure 1 and Table 1). Under anaerobic depending on the microorganism involved, two molecules of pyruvate. Under anaerobic conditions and depending on the microorganism fermentation can continue in certain pathways.
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