Improvement of mannitol production by Lactobacillus brevis mutant 3-A5 based on dual-stage pH control and fed-batch fermentations

Optimization of growth of Levilactobacillus brevis SP 48 and in vitro evaluation of the effect of viable cells and high molecular weight potential postbiotics on Helicobacter pylori

Several Levilactobacillus brevis strains have the potential to be used as probiotics since they provide health benefits due to the interaction of live cells, and of their secreted products, with the host (tissues). Therefore, the development of simple fermentation processes that improve cell viability to reduce industrial production costs, and at the same time the characterization and biological evaluation of cell-free postbiotics that can further promote application, are of great interest. In the present study, small scale batch fermentations on semi defined media, deprived of animal derived raw materials, were used to optimize growth of L. brevis SP48, reaching 1.2 ± 0.4 × 1010 CFU/ml of viable cells after 16 h of growth. Displacement, competition, and inhibition assays compared the effect, on Helicobacter pylori, of L. brevis cells to that of its partially purified potentially postbiotic fraction rich in exopolysaccharides and proteins. The expression of pro and anti-inflammatory biochemical markers indicated that both samples activated antimicrobial defenses and innate immunity in a gastric model. Moreover, these compounds also acted as modulators of the inflammatory response in a gut in vitro model. These data demonstrate that the high molecular weight compounds secreted by L. brevis SP48 can contrast H. pylori and reduce inflammation related to intestinal bowel disease, potentially overcoming issues related to the preservation of probiotic viability.

Mannitol Production by Heterofermentative Lactic Acid Bacteria: a Review

Obesity, diabetes, and other cardiovascular diseases are directly related to the high consumption of processed sugars with high caloric content. The current food industry has novel trends related to replacing highly caloric sugars with non-caloric or low-calorie sweeteners. Mannitol, a polyol, represents a suitable substitute because it has a low caloric content and does not induce a glycemic response, which is crucial for diabetic people. Consequently, this polyol has multiple applications in the food, pharmaceutical, and medicine industries. Mannitol can be produced by plant extraction, chemical or enzymatic synthesis, or microbial fermentation. Different in vitro processes have been developed regarding enzymatic synthesis to obtain mannitol from fructose, glucose, or starch-derived substrates. Various microorganisms such as yeast, fungi, and bacteria are applied for microbial fermentation. Among them, heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria (LAB) represent a reliable and feasible alternative due to their metabolic characteristics. In this regard, the yield and productivity of mannitol depend on the culture system, the growing conditions, and the culture medium composition. In situ mannitol production represents a novel approach to decrease the sugar content in food and beverages. Also, genetic engineering offers an interesting option to obtain mannitol-producing strains. This review presents and discusses the most significant advances that have been made in the mannitol production through fermentation by heterofermentative LAB, including the pertinent and critical analysis of culture conditions considering broth composition, reaction systems, and their effects on productivities and yields.

Probiotic Characteristics of Lactobacillus brevis KT38-3 Isolated from an Artisanal Tulum Cheese

Probiotics are living microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, provide a health benefit to the host and are considered safe. Most probiotic strains that are beneficial to human health are included in the “Lactic acid bacteria” (LAB) group. The positive effects of probiotic bacteria on the host’s health are species-specific and even strain-specific. Therefore, evaluating the probiotic potential of both wild and novel strains is essential. In this study, the probiotic characteristics of Lactobacillus brevis KT38-3 were determined. The strain identification was achieved by 16S rRNA sequencing. API-ZYM test kits were used to determine the enzymatic capacity of the strain. L. brevis KT38-3 was able to survive in conditions with a broad pH range (pH 2–7), range of bile salts (0.3%–1%) and conditions that simulated gastric juice and intestinal juice. The percentage of autoaggregation (59.4%), coaggregation with E. coli O157:H7 (37.4%) and hydrophobicity were determined to be 51.1%, 47.4%, and 52.7%, respectively. L. brevis KT38-3 produced β-galactosidase enzymes and was able ferment lactose. In addition, this strain was capable of producing antimicrobial peptides against the bacteria tested, including methicillin and/or vancomycin-resistant bacteria. The cell-free supernatants of the strain had high antioxidant activities (DPPH: 54.9% and ABTS: 48.7%). Therefore, considering these many essential in vitro probiotic properties, L. brevis KT38-3 has the potential to be used as a probiotic supplement. Supporting these findings with in vivo experiments to evaluate the potential health benefits will be the subject of our future work.

The biogenic amine-producing bacteria from craft beer and their kinetic analysis between growth characteristics and biogenic amine formation in beer

Craft beer because of its fresh flavor, unique taste, and rich nutrition is becoming more popular to consumers. Compared with industry beer, craft beer is often nonfiltered and nonpasteurized, for this reason, it has a short shelf life and is more susceptible to microbial spoilage, which may cause the quality deterioration of craft beer and the formation of biogenic amine as a harmful factor for consumer's health. In this study, the 23 beer-spoilage bacteria were isolated from craft beer, which were identified as 15 Lactobacillus (L.) brevis, 3 L. plantarum, 1 L. parabuchneri, 2 L. paracasei, and 2 Pediococcus damnosus. Among 23 beer-spoilage isolates, 20 representatives were able to form tyramine, histamine, putrescine, cadaverine, and/or tryptamine in MRS broth. The nine Lactobacillus strains were incubated in beer and produced tyramine, histamine, putrescine, cadaverine, and/or tryptamine during beer storage process. Logistic and Gompertz model could be adopted to respectively describe the kinetics of microorganism growth and biogenic amine formation. The relationship between the biogenic amines and biomass was simulated by Luedeking-Piret model very well, and showed that the formation of biogenic amine was mainly bacteria growth-associated in beer. These findings may be helpful for finding the preventive measures to control biogenic amine formation and for enhancing the safety of craft beer. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The selection of the biogenic amine-producing spoilage bacteria from craft beer and the investigation their kinetics of the growth and biogenic amines production under beer environmental conditions was very helpful for finding preventive measures to eliminate or reduce biogenic amine formation and for appropriate increase in food safety.

Archaeal hyperthermostable mannitol dehydrogenases: A promising industrial enzymes for d-mannitol synthesis

Recently, the term healthy lifestyle connected to low-calorie diets, although it is not possible to get rid of added sugars as a source of energy, despite the close relation of added sugars to some diseases such as obesity, diabetes, etc. As a result, the sweetener market has flourished, which has led to increased demand for natural sweeteners such as polyols, including d-mannitol. Various methods have been developed to produce d-mannitol to achieve high productivity and low cost. In particular, metabolic engineering for d-mannitol considers one of the most promising approaches for d-mannitol production on the industrial scale. To date, the chemical process is not ideal for large-scale production because of its multistep mechanism involving hydrogenation and high cost. In this review, we highlight and present a comparative evaluation of the biochemical parameters that affecting d-mannitol synthesis from Thermotoga neapolitana and Thermotoga maritima mannitol dehydrogenase (MtDH) as a potential contribution for d-mannitol bio-synthesis. These species were selected because purified mannitol dehydrogenases from both strains have been reported to produce d-mannitol with no sorbitol formation under temperatures (90-120 °C).

Recent advances in the biotechnological production of erythritol and mannitol

Dietary habits that include an excess of added sugars have been strongly associated with an increased risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and tooth decay. With this association in view, modern food systems aim to replace added sugars with low calorie sweeteners, such as polyols. Polyols are generally not carcinogenic and do not trigger a glycemic response. Furthermore, owing to the absence of the carbonyl group, they are more stable compared to monosaccharides and do not participate in Maillard reactions. As such, since polyols are stable at high temperatures, and they do not brown or caramelize when heated. Therefore, polyols are widely used in the diets of hypocaloric and diabetic patients, as well as other specific cases where controlled caloric intake is required. In recent years, erythritol and mannitol have gained increased importance, especially in the food and pharmaceutical industries. In these areas, research efforts have been made to improve the productivity and yield of the two polyols, relying on biotechnological manufacturing methods. The present review highlights the recent advances in the biotechnological production of erythritol and mannitol and summarizes the benefits of using the two polyols in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Isolation, characterisation and exploitation of lactic acid bacteria capable of efficient conversion of sugars to mannitol

The demand for sugar reduction in products across the food and beverage industries has evoked the development of novel processes including the application of fermentation with lactic acid bacteria. Heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are diverse in their ability to utilise fermentable sugars and can also convert fructose into the sweet tasting polyol, mannitol. The sourdough microbiota has long been recognised as an ecological niche for a range of homofermentative and heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria. A leading determinant in the biodiversity of sourdough microbial populations is the type of flour used. Ten non-wheat flours were used and back-slopped for 7 days resulting in the isolation of 52 mannitol producing isolates which spanned six heterofermentative species of the genera Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc and Weissella. Assessment of mannitol productivity in fructose concentrations up to 100 g/L found Leuconostoc citreum TR116, to have the best mannitol producing characteristics, consuming 95% of available fructose and yielding 0.68 g of mannitol per gram of fructose consumed which equates to the maximal theoretical yield. Investigation of the effects of initial pH on mannitol production and other fermentation parameters in the isolates found pH 7 to be best for isolates Lactobacillus brevis TR052, Leuconostoc fallax TR111, Leuconostoc citreum TR116, Leuconostoc mesenteroides TR154 and Weissella paramesenteroides TR212, while pH 6 was optimal for Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides TR080. The fermentation of apple juice with each isolate resulted in sugar reduction ranging from 30.3-74.0 g/L (34-72%). When apple juice fermentation with Leuconostoc citreum TR116 was scaled up to 1 L bioreactor a reduction in sugar of 98.6 g/L (83%) was achieved along with the production of 61.6 g/L mannitol. This demonstrates a fermentative process for sugar reduction in fruit juice with concomitant production of the sweet metabolite mannitol to create a fermentate that is suitable for further development as a low sugar fruit juice alternative.

Recent advances in microbial production of mannitol: utilization of low-cost substrates, strain development and regulation strategies

Mannitol has been widely used in fine chemicals, pharmaceutical industries, as well as functional foods due to its excellent characteristics, such as antioxidant protecting, regulation of osmotic pressure and non-metabolizable feature. Mannitol can be naturally produced by microorganisms. Compared with chemical manufacturing, microbial production of mannitol provides high yield and convenience in products separation; however the fermentative process has not been widely adopted yet. A major obstacle to microbial production of mannitol under industrial-scale lies in the low economical efficiency, owing to the high cost of fermentation medium, leakage of fructose, low mannitol productivity. In this review, recent advances in improving the economical efficiency of microbial production of mannitol were reviewed, including utilization of low-cost substrates, strain development for high mannitol yield and process regulation strategies for high productivity.

Molecular typing of Lactobacillus brevis isolates from Korean food using repetitive element-polymerase chain reaction

Lactobacillus brevis is a part of a large family of lactic acid bacteria that are present in cheese, sauerkraut, sourdough, silage, cow manure, feces, and the intestinal tract of humans and rats. It finds its use in food fermentation, and so is considered a "generally regarded as safe" organism. L. brevis strains are extensively used as probiotics and hence, there is a need for identifying and characterizing these strains. For identification and discrimination of the bacterial species at the subspecific level, repetitive element-polymerase chain reaction method is a reliable genomic fingerprinting tool. The objective of the present study was to characterize 13 strains of L. brevis isolated from various fermented foods using repetitive element-polymerase chain reaction. Repetitive element-polymerase chain reaction was performed using three primer sets, REP, Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus (ERIC), and (GTG)₅, which produced different fingerprinting patterns that enable us to distinguish between the closely related strains. Fingerprinting patterns generated band range in between 150 and 5000 bp with REP, 200-7500 bp with ERIC, and 250-2000 bp with (GTG)₅ primers, respectively. The Jaccard's dissimilarity matrices were used to obtain dendrograms by the unweighted neighbor-joining method using genetic dissimilarities based on repetitive element-polymerase chain reaction fingerprinting data. Repetitive element-polymerase chain reaction proved to be a rapid and easy method that can produce reliable results in L. brevis species.

Microbial production of mannitol by Lactobacillus brevis 3-A5 from concentrated extract of Jerusalem artichoke tubers

In the present study, the conversion of the extract of Jerusalem artichoke tubers for mannitol production by Lactobacillus brevis 3-A5 was investigated. When the bacterium utilized enzymatic hydrolysates of Jerusalem artichoke extract as the main substrates in batch fermentation, the significant decrease in mannitol productivity was observed when the initial concentration of reducing sugar increased. Then, a strategy of continuous fed-batch fermentation was adopted for improving mannitol production with enzymatic hydrolysates of Jerusalem artichoke extract as main substrates. Although the concentration of mannitol could reach 199.86 g/L at the end of the fermentation, the productivity for the overall process of the fermentation was only 1.67 g/L/H. To improve the mannitol productivity with both higher yield and concentration, the simultaneous enzymatic saccharification and fermentation (SSF) was studied. In SSF, the mannitol production reached 176.50 g/L in 28 H with a productivity of 6.30 g/L/H and a yield of 0.68 g/g total sugar. Our study provides a cost-effective and eco-friendly method for mannitol production from a cheap biomass.

Identification of Lactobacillus brevis using a species-specific AFLP-derived marker

A simple and specific method for the rapid detection and identification of Lactobacillus brevis was developed. A fAFLP (Fluorescent Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms) marker for L. brevis was used to design oligonucleotide primers for a species-specific PCR assay, targeting a 125bp fragment of the gene encoding the aldo/keto reductase of the diketogulonate-reductase family of L. brevis. This assay resulted in 100% inclusivity and exclusivity of assignment of strains to the species L. brevis. The analytical specificity of this assay was successfully tested to identify L. brevis isolates from sourdoughs.

Efficient mannitol production by wild-type Lactobacillus reuteri CRL 1101 is attained at constant pH using a simplified culture medium

Mannitol is a natural polyol with multiple industrial applications. In this work, mannitol production by Lactobacillus reuteri CRL 1101 was studied at free- and controlled-pH (6.0-4.8) fermentations using a simplified culture medium containing yeast and beef extracts and sugarcane molasses. The activity of mannitol 2-dehydrogenase (MDH), the enzyme responsible for mannitol synthesis, was determined. The effect of the initial biomass concentration was further studied. Mannitol production (41.5 ± 1.1 g/l), volumetric productivity (Q Mtl 1.73 ± 0.05 g/l h), and yield (Y Mtl 105 ± 11 %) were maximum at pH 5.0 after 24 h while the highest MDH activity (1.66 ± 0.09 U/mg protein) was obtained at pH 6.0. No correlation between mannitol production and MDH activity was observed when varying the culture pH. The increase (up to 2000-fold) in the initial biomass concentration did not improve mannitol formation after 24 h although a 2-fold higher amount was produced at 8 h using 1 or 2 g cell dry weight/l comparing to the control (0.001 g cell dry weight/l). Finally, mannitol isolation under optimum fermentation conditions was achieved. The mannitol production obtained in this study is the highest reported so far by a wild-type L. reuteri strain and, more interestingly, using a simplified culture medium.