Agriculture & Food, Volume 3, 2015

Abstract: Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have long history of application in fermented foods as a starter cultures to produce dairy, meat, bakery and vegetable fermentation because of their beneficial influence on nutritional, organoleptic, and shelf-life characteristics. LAB are also known to produce and excrete compounds with antimicrobial activity, such as hydrogen peroxide, carbon dioxide, diacetyl, bacteriocins and bacteriocin like substances. All antimicrobial compounds can antagonize the growth of some spoilage and pathogenic bacteria in foods and have been explored in the control of most unwanted organisms. Looking for antimicrobial compounds is crucial to provide an alternative to chemical additives, offering to the market new and appealing food products. The present work aims to give an overview of the recent advances in antimicrobial activity of LAB for the production of industrially important compounds.