BTE 404:

Bioprocess
FermentedTfood
echnology
and probiotics

Shomoita Sayed
 Fermented foods
•The term fermented foods is used to describe a special class of
food products characterized generally by ‘various kinds of
carbohydrate breakdown in the presence of probiotic
microorganisms’; but seldom is carbohydrate the only constituent
acted upon.
•Most fermented foods contain a complex mixture of
carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and these constituents keep
undergoing modifications simultaneously.
•These modifications occur under the action of a variety of
microorganisms and enzymes.
•These food are also known to contain probiotics.
What is probiotic??
 Probioti
• Probiotics are usually defined ascs
microbial food supplements with beneficial
effects on the consumers.
• Most probiotics fall into the group of organisms’ known as lactic acid
producing bacteria and are normally consumed in the form of yogurt,
fermented milks or other fermented foods.
• Probiotics and their fermented food products are beneficial for
health.
• In the late 19th century, microbiologists identified microflora in the
gastrointestinal (GI) tracts of healthy individuals that differed from those
found in diseased individuals.
• These beneficial microflora found in the GI tract were termed probiotics.
• Probiotics, literally meaning ‘for life’, are micro-organisms proven to exert
health-promoting influences in humans and animals.
•Metchnikoff (1908) was perhaps the first researcher to propose that
fermented dairy products have beneficial properties.
•During the past two decades there has been renewed interest in
the study of the nutritional and therapeutic aspects of these
products. The majority of the researches suggest that the potential
benefit following the consumption of fermented dairy products
containing viable lactic acid bacteria.
•As a result, the development and consumption of functional foods,
or foods that promote health beyond providing basic nutrition, are
on the rise.
•Sport bars, soy-based ice cream, cholesterol-reducing margarines
and calcium-fortified orange juice are examples of functional food
products that have thrived in this era.
 Probiotics and prebiotics
•Probiotics are live microbial cultures consumed for
health benefits beyond providing basic nutritional
value. They cooperatively maintain a delicate balance
between the GI tract and immune system.
•Prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients that
encourage the growth and activity of favorable
intestinal bacteria and are quickly gaining attention as
functional food.
How do probiotics work
 Work of
probiotics
•To understand how probiotics work, it is important to understand a
little about the physiology, microbiology of GI tract and the
digestive process.
•The digestive process begins as soon as food enters the mouth and
to stomach. Microbes in small intestine and in the large intestine
complete the digestion process.
•Certain intestinal microbes are known to produce vitamins and
they are nonpathogenic. Their presence is correlated with a healthy
intestinal flora.
•The metabolic end products of their growth are organic acids (lactic
and acetic acids) that tend to lower the pH of the intestinal
contents, creating conditions less desirable for harmful bacteria.
•Probiotics may also influence other protective functions of the
intestinal mucosa including synthesis and secretion of antibacterial
peptides, mucins.
•Along this mucosal interface, microbes and foreign antigens
colonizing or passing through the GI tract interact with important
components of the immune system.
•This interaction serves to stimulate the immune system for optimal
functioning.
•Normal microbial inhabitants of the GI tract also reinforce the
barrier function of the intestinal lining, decreasing passage of
bacteria or antigens from the intestine into the blood stream. This
function has been suggested to decrease infections and possibly
allergic reactions to food antigen.
 Composition of probiotic preparations
•The most commonly used organisms in probiotic preparations are
the lactic acid bacteria [LAB], these are found in large numbers in
the gut of healthy animals and are in the words of the American
FDA, ‘Generally Regarded as Safe’.
•Organisms other than lactic acid bacteria, which are currently
being used in probiotic preparations, include yeasts (e.g.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces boulardii) and
filamentous fungi (e.g. Aspergillus oryzae).
•These probiotic preparations may be presented in the form of
powders, tablets, capsules, pastes or sprays depending on the
animal or human receiving the supplement and the condition to
be treated.
Potential heath benefits
of
probiotics
 Health benefit and therapeutic
effects of probiotics
•There are a variety of proposed beneficial health effects of
probiotics; only a few have significant research to back up
the claims.
•Clinical symptoms that have been reportedly treated or
have the potential to be treated with probiotics include
diarrhoea, irritable bowel syndrome, and inflammatory
bowel disease (IBD; Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis),
cancer, depressed immune function, inadequate lactase
digestion, infant allergies, hyperlipidaemia, Helicobacter
pylori infections.
 Nutrient synthesis
•The action of micro-organisms during the preparation of cultured
foods or in the digestive tract has been shown to improve the
quantity, availability and digestibility of some dietary nutrients.
•Fermentation of food with lactic acid bacteria increases folic acid in
yogurt, bifidus milk and kefir.
•Lactic acid bacteria are known to release various enzymes and
vitamins into the intestinal lumen.
•This exert synergistic effects on digestion by alleviating symptoms of
intestinal malabsorption, and by producing lactic acid, which lowers
the pH of the intestinal content and helps to inhibit the
development of invasive pathogens such as Salmonella spp. or
strains of E. coli.
•Bacterial enzymatic hydrolysis enhance the
bioavailability of protein and fat and increase the
may
production of free amino acids, short chain fatty acids
(SCFA), lactic acid.
•When absorbed, these SCFAs contribute to the available
energy pool of the host and may protect against
pathological changes in the colonic mucosa.
•SCFA concentration helps to maintain an appropriate pH in
the colonic lumen, which is critical in the expression of
many bacterial enzymes and in suppressing foreign
compound and carcinogen metabolism in the gut.
 Nutritional value

Synthesis of Folic Acid Reducing mal-absorption

LAB
Synthesis of enzymes
and vitamins Inhibiting the pathogenic
invasion

Increase bio-availability Energy pool

Enzymatic
hydrolysis Enzymatic
Increase the production
of SCFA and amino acids expression

inhibition of pathogen
and carcinogen
metabolism
 Preventative and therapeutic effects against
diarrhea
•The well-known uses of probiotics is for diarrheal diseases
prevention and management of acute viral and bacterial diarrhea.
•A number of specific strains, including Lactobacillus GG,
Lactobacillus reuteri, Bifidobacteria spp., have been shown to have
significant benefit for diarrhea.
•Probiotics can prevent diarrhea through their effects on the immune
system.
• Moreover, probiotics might prevent infection because they
compete with pathogenic viruses or bacteria for binding sites on
epithelial cells.
•Probiotics might also inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria by
producing bacteriocins such as nisin.
 Anti-diarrhea
effects

Boosting up Competing with Producing

immunity pathogenic strains bacteriocins
 Alleviation of lactose intolerance
•Lactic acid of the yoghurt reduces the
symptoms of lactose intolerance in lactase-
deficient individuals.
•The beneficial effect appears to be a result of
the lactic acid bacteria in fermented milk
and the increasing of lactase activity in the
small intestine by the LABs.
 Inflammation/ arthritis
• Probiotic supplementation has both direct and indirect effects.
• There are indirect effects exerted at sites outside the GI tract, including the
joints, lungs, and skin.
• Indirect effects most likely result from an impact on immunity, via changes
in inflammatory mediators such as cytokines.
• It is speculated that inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis may
be reduced by the use of probiotics.
• When inflamed, the GI tract becomes permeable and serves as a link
between inflammatory diseases of the GI tract and extra-inflammatory
disorders such as arthritis.
• Modulation or down-regulation of the immune system and subsequent
reduction in GI permeability can result from consuming probiotics.
 Direct effects

Probiotic
Indirect effects

Rheumatoid arthritis

Probiotic
consumption
joints,
lungs,
skin
Modulation Reduction of
of GI
immunity permeability
 Prevention of allergic diseases
•The prevalence of allergic diseases has increased over the last 35–
40 years, particularly in Western societies.
•Although research on how probiotics might modulate allergic
reaction are still in initial phases, they have been found to exert a
beneficial effect by improving mucosal barrier function.
•Probiotic bacteria are important in down-regulating inflammation
associated with hypersensitivity reactions in patients with atopic
eczema and food allergy .
•Probiotics may also be helpful in alleviating some of the symptoms
of food allergies such as those associated with milk protein.
•This alleviation may occur by degrading these proteins to smaller
peptides and amino acids.
 Prevention of
allergic diseases

Improving Degrading food-

Down-regulating
mucosal barrier proteins into
inflammation
function smaller portions
 Canc
•In general, cancer is caused er
by mutation or activation of genes
that control cell growth and division. A substance that causes a
mistake in genes is known as a mutagen.
•Generally, the immune system recognizes and destroys most
abnormal cells.
• Many processes or exposures can increase the occurrence of
abnormal cells. Among the many potentially risky exposures are
chemical exposures.
•Precautions that minimize these exposures decrease the risk of
cancer.
•Cancer-causing chemicals (carcinogens) can be ingested or
generated by metabolic activity of microbes that live in the GI.
•It has been hypothesized that probiotic cultures may decrease the
exposure to chemical carcinogens by: (i) detoxifying ingested
carcinogens;
•(ii) altering the environment of the intestine and thereby
decreasing populations or metabolic activities of bacteria that
may generate carcinogenic compounds;
•(iii) producing metabolic products (e.g. butyrate) which improve a
cell’s natural death (a process known as apoptosis);
•(iv) producing compounds that inhibit the growth of tumor cells;
or
•(v) stimulating the immune system to better defend against cancer
cell proliferation.
 Maintaining
cholesterol
• Cholesterol is essential level
for many functions in the human body.
• It acts as a precursor to certain hormones and vitamins and it is a component
of cell membranes and nerve cells.
• However, elevated levels of total blood cholesterol or other blood lipids are
considered risk factors for developing coronary heart disease.
• Although humans synthesize cholesterol to maintain minimum levels for
biological functioning, diet also is known to play a role in serum cholesterol
levels, although the extent of influence varies significantly from person to
person.
• LABs have been evaluated for their effect on serum cholesterol levels. There
have been some human studies that suggest that blood cholesterol levels can
be reduced by consumption of probiotic-containing dairy foods by people with
elevated blood cholesterol. But this topic needs more in-depth research.
 Hypertens
ion that probiotic bacteria may also play
•Preliminary evidence indicates
a role in blood pressure control, with animal and clinical studies
documenting antihypertensive effects of probiotic ingestion.
•Elderly hypertensive patients who consumed fermented milk
containing Lactobacillus helveticus and Sacc. cerevisiae experienced
reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
•There is a critical need for long-term, well-controlled human studies
to evaluate the benefit of probiotic consumption on heart disease
risk through their effects on hypertension and blood lipid levels.
•Considering the current epidemic of heart disease, regular
consumption of probiotics may provide a modest beneficial effect
against heart disease.
 Helicobacter pylori
•It is clinically infections
found that the higher the level of lactic acid
production by Lactobacillus, the more potent is the effect on
reducing H. pylori’s urease activity.
•There is some preliminary evidence that probiotic bacteria may
inhibit the gastric colonization and activity of H. pylori, which is
associated with gastritis, peptic ulcers and gastric cancer.
•L. salivarius was found to inhibit H. pylori colonization in vitro
studies as well as in mice.
•The use of probiotics in the field of H. pylori infection has been
proposed for improving eradication for the infection.
 Inflammatory bowel
disease
•Studies have shown an improvement in symptoms of IBD, with
consumption of certain strains of lactobacilli.
•Lactic acid bacteria may improve intestinal mobility and relieve
constipation possibly through a reduction in gut pH.
•It has also been reported that probiotic combination therapies may
benefit patients with IBS.
•Probiotics exhibit a direct effect in the gut in the treatment of
inflammatory and functional bowel disorders.
•In one of the most common functional bowel disorders, irritable
bowel syndrome, L. plantarum 299v and DSM 9843 strains were
shown in clinical trials to reduce abdominal pain, bloating,
flatulence, and constipation.
 Limitatio
• Studies on lactose intolerance,ns
diarrhea and colon cancer show that a daily
dose of LAB is needed for any measurable effect.
• Unfortunately, the concentration of probiotics in food products varies
tremendously and there are currently no national standards of identity for
levels of bacteria required in yogurt or other fermented products.
• Epidemiological data on the safety of dairy products and a thorough review
on safety data on probiotics show no evidence of probiotics being involved
with human infections.
• However, there always remains the possibility that probiotic consumption
can cause infection and that individuals will respond in different ways to a
specific strain.
• The food industry will need to carefully assess the safety and efficacy of all
new species and strains of probiotics before incorporating them into food.
 Future prospects
• In spite of the problems with dosage and viability of probiotic strains, lack of
industry standardization and potential safety issues, there is obviously
considerable potential for the benefits of probiotics over a wide range of
clinical conditions.
• New research evidence supports indirect effects of probiotics for a widely
divergent set of disorders, including atopic disease, immune compromise and
vaginal infections.
• Over time, new food products containing probiotics will emerge such as
energy bars, cereals, juices, infant formula and cheese, as well as disease-
specific medical foods.
• The establishment of standards of identity for probiotic-containing food
products will serve to accelerate the development and availability of these
food products.