Genomic analysis of B. coagulans ATCC 7050T reveals its adaption to fermented milk as an adjunct starter culture for yogurt

Bibliometric Analysis of Probiotic Bacillus in Food Science: Evolution of Research Trends and Systematic Evaluation

With the in-depth and comprehensive research on probiotic Bacillus, it has become a hot topic in food science. However, the current status of research using bibliometric analysis to assess the application of probiotic Bacillus in food science has not been comprehensively reviewed. The Web of Science (WOS) database was used in this review's bibliometric analysis to determine the hotspots for research as well as the extent of completed experiments. Furthermore, a systematic review was conducted on the research hotspots of probiotic Bacillus in food science. The comprehensive analysis showed it was a growing and global research field. The keywords with high frequency mainly included "spore," "strain," and "production," which were research hot topics in the last decade. The application of the spore form or nutrient cells of probiotic Bacillus in industrialized food production through nutrient fortification, fermentation agents, and highly efficient synthesis of metabolites showed great development potential.

In vitro safety and functional characterization of the novel Bacillus coagulans strain CGI314

Introduction

Bacillus coagulans species have garnered much interest in health-related functional food research owing to their desirable probiotic properties, including pathogen exclusion, antioxidant, antimicrobial, immunomodulatory and food fermentation capabilities coupled with their tolerance of extreme environments (pH, temperature, gastric and bile acid resistance) and stability due to their endosporulation ability.

Methods

In this study, the novel strain Bacillus coagulans CGI314 was assessed for safety, and functional probiotic attributes including resistance to heat, gastric acid and bile salts, the ability to adhere to intestinal cells, aggregation properties, the ability to suppress the growth of human pathogens, enzymatic profile, antioxidant capacity using biochemical and cell-based methods, cholesterol assimilation, anti-inflammatory activity, and attenuation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced disruption of the intestinal-epithelial barrier.

Results

B. coagulans CGI314 spores display resistance to high temperatures (40°C, 70°C, and 90°C), and gastric and bile acids [pH 3.0 and bile salt (0.3%)], demonstrating its ability to survive and remain viable under gastrointestinal conditions. Spores and the vegetative form of this strain were able to adhere to a mucous-producing intestinal cell line, demonstrated moderate auto-aggregation properties, and could co-aggregate with potentially pathogenic bacteria. Vegetative cells attenuated LPS-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine gene expression in HT-29 intestinal cell lines and demonstrated broad antagonistic activity toward numerous urinary tract, intestinal, oral, and skin pathogens. Metabolomic profiling demonstrated its ability to synthesize several amino acids, vitamins and short-chain fatty acids from the breakdown of complex molecules or by de novo synthesis. Additionally, B. coagulans CGI314's strong antioxidant capacity was demonstrated using enzyme-based methods and was further supported by its cytoprotective and antioxidant effects in HepG2 and HT-29 cell lines. Furthermore, B. coagulans CGI314 significantly increased the expression of tight junction proteins and partially ameliorated the detrimental effects of H2O2 induced intestinal-epithelial barrier integrity.

Discussion

Taken together these beneficial functional properties provide strong evidence for B. coagulans CGI314 as a promising potential probiotic candidate in food products.

The Quality and Flavor Changes of Different Soymilk and Milk Mixtures Fermented Products during Storage

This study explored the effects of two mixed fermentation methods: one was fermenting a soymilk and milk mixture by a lactic acid bacteria fermenting agent at 0.1 g/kg and 42 °C until the acidity was 70 °T, which was set as the MFSM method, and the other was fermenting milk alone by lactic acid bacteria at 42 °C for 12 h, placing it in a 4 °C refrigerator after acidification for 24 h and then mixing it with soymilk at a 1.5:1 ratio and storing the mixture at 4 °C, which was set as the SMFSM method. The quality and flavor of the soymilk and milk mixture products were investigated on the 0th, 15th and 30th days during storage. The changes in acidity, pH, number of viable bacteria, viscosity, water-holding capacity, texture, rheological properties, sensory quality and volatile flavors were determined. The results showed that compared with the fermented soymilk and milk mixtures under the MFSM method, the samples of fermented soymilk and milk mixtures under the SMFSM method showed a significant slowdown of acidification during storage, so that the sensory quality of the products was almost unaffected by acidity on the 30th day of storage. Furthermore, the number of viable bacteria was greater than 7 log cfu/mL. The water holding capacity did not change significantly until the 30th day. There was also no whey precipitation, indicating good stability. The samples in SMFSM mode had higher aromatic contents and beans during storage than the fermented soymilk and milk mixtures in MFSM mode. The rich variety of volatile flavors and the presence of acetoin, 2-heptanone, and (E,E)-3,5-octadien-2-one throughout the storage period allowed the samples to maintain a good sensory flavor during storage.

Different effects of Bacillus coagulans vegetative cells and spore isolates on constipation-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis in mice

Bacillus coagulans (B. coagulans) can improve and prevent functional gastrointestinal disorders. However, there has been little discussion in the literature on the difference between spores and vegetative cells for relieving constipation. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of Bacillus coagulans (B. coagulans) vegetative cells and spores against loperamide-induced constipation in mice. According to our findings, B. coagulans vegetative cells and spores differ in their ability to relieve loperamide-induced constipation. Two of the three strains of B. coagulans spores used in this experiment, B. coagulans GBI-30 6086 and B. coagulans 90, were significantly different from the model group in relieving constipation. This mainly manifested as a decreased time required for first black stool defecation (by 52 and 79 min, respectively), and increased counts of the first black stools in 5 h (by 15 and 8, respectively), the small intestine transit rate (by 23.31% and 20.52%, respectively), and the concentration of SCFAs. While the administration of vegetative cells could only relieve some indicators of intestinal transit disorders and dysbacteriosis caused by constipation. Spores of B. coagulans GBI-30 6086 and B. coagulans 90 had higher survival rates in the simulated gastrointestinal tract environment, which indicated that the functional modes of the three strains were different and had a strong relationship with the morphology of the bacteria. B. coagulans GBI-30 6086 and B. coagulans 90 spores alleviate constipation by increasing the abundances of Actinobacteria, Deferribacteres, and Lachnospiraceae UCG-006 (which were positively correlated with SCFAs) and decreasing the abundances of Cyanobateria and Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut group (which were negatively correlated with SCFAs) and the levels of Ruminococcaceae UGC-014 and Alistipes. In this study, the effects of probiotics in the form of spore or vegetative cell were compared, and the optimal preparation form was determined, providing a theoretical basis for the application of probiotics of B. coagulans to relieve constipation.