Review on the Commercial and Therapeutic Implementation of Lactobacillus Species
Pratik Chatterjee *
Department of Biotechnology, School of Bio Science and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore 632 014, Tamil Nadu, India.
Utpalendu Paul
Department of Biotechnology, School of Bio Science and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore 632 014, Tamil Nadu, India.
Subhadeep Banerjee
Department of Biotechnology, School of Bio Science and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore 632 014, Tamil Nadu, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Lactic acid (LA) is one of the primary metabolites that is considered to be a natural product derived from microorganisms such as Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB). The most prominent LA- producing LAB is the genus of Lactobacillus spp. and is found in almost all dairy products along with non-dairy food products. The application of LA can be found in various sectors including food, fermentation, pharmaceuticals, and chemical industries. LAB have lots of perspective in the production of organic acids as well as complex compounds that find potential application in food products such as yoghurt, cheese, buttermilk in addition to therapeutics uses such as probiotics that help in preventing gastrointestinal infections; improve pathogen protection; and alter host immunological responses. Moreover, fermentation with LAB also facilitates efficient nutrient quality and provides an effective method of food preservation. The present study provides an overview of the potential application of LA produced by Lactobacillus spp. in different sectors.
Keywords: Lactic acid, LAB, probiotics, LAB fermentation, LA pharmaceuticals, LAB dairy products, primary metabolites