Abstract
Wild probiotic consortia of microorganisms (bacteria and yeasts) associated in the artisanal cultures’ microbiota (milk kefir grains, water kefir grains and kombucha) are considered valuable promoters for metabiotics (prebiotics, probiotics, postbiotics and paraprobiotics) production. The beneficial effects of the fermented products obtained with the artisanal cultures on human well-being are described by centuries and the interest for them is continuously increasing. The wild origin and microbial diversity of these above-mentioned consortia give them extraordinary protection capacity against microbiological contaminants in unusual physico-chemical conditions and unique fermentative behaviour. This review summarizes the state of the art for the wild artisanal cultures (milk and water kefir grains, respectively, kombucha—SCOBY), their symbiotic functionality, and the ability to ferment unconventional substrates in order to obtain valuable bioactive compounds with in vitro and in vivo beneficial functional properties. Due to the necessity of the bioactives production and their use as metabiotics in the modern consumer’s life, artisanal cultures are the perfect sources able to biosynthesize complex functional metabolites (bioactive peptides, antimicrobials, polysaccharides, enzymes, vitamins, cell wall components). Depending on the purposes of the biotechnological fermentation processes, artisanal cultures can be used as starters on different substrates. Current studies show that the microbial synergy between bacteria—yeast and/or bacteria—offers new perspectives to develop functional products (food, feeds, and ingredients) with a great impact on life quality.
Highlights
One of the most effective public health methods for preventing infectious illnesses is to fortify immunity via functional nutrition [1]
Gut bacteria can affect viral infection by influencing the numbers of regulatory T-cells which development is influenced by the short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) resulting from the fermentation of dietary fibres [2]
The epidemic encouraged consumers to be interested in immune-boosting functional foods, which are based on bioactive components for sustaining physical and psychological health [4]
Summary
One of the most effective public health methods for preventing infectious illnesses is to fortify immunity via functional nutrition [1]. Probiotics require complex growth conditions, high maintenance cost, susceptibility to the gastrointestinal environment, pathogenic gene transfer, cell lysis at extreme acidic pH, widespread antibiotic resistance, and lower bacterial viability due to the lack of spore formation, along with the biological risks associated with long and uncontrolled usage of classical probiotics [16] In this context, to sustain the complex and varied microbial consortium of the gut which contains various bacteria, archaea, viruses, and fungi, a new concept of probiotic cell components, metabolites, and signal molecules which is a more stable and efficient alternative for probiotics is developed. The connection between metabiotic-artisanal cultures will be analysed from different perspectives
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