The importance of lactic acid bacteria for the prevention of bacterial growth and their biogenic amines formation: A review

ABSTRACT

Foodborne pathogens (FBP) represent an important threat to the consumers' health as they are able to cause different foodborne diseases. In order to eliminate the potential risk of those pathogens, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have received a great attention in the food biotechnology sector since they play an essential function to prevent bacterial growth and reduce the biogenic amines (BAs) formation. The foodborne illnesses (diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain, etc.) caused by those microbial pathogens is due to various reasons, one of them is related to the decarboxylation of available amino acids that lead to BAs production. The formation of BAs by pathogens in foods can cause the deterioration of their nutritional and sensory qualities. BAs formation can also have toxicological impacts and lead to different types of intoxications. The growth of FBP and their BAs production should be monitored and prevented to avoid such problems. LAB is capable of improving food safety by preventing foods spoilage and extending their shelf-life. LAB are utilized by the food industries to produce fermented products with their antibacterial effects as bio-preservative agents to extent their storage period and preserve their nutritive and gustative characteristics. Besides their contribution to the flavor for fermented foods, LAB secretes various antimicrobial substances including organic acids, hydrogen peroxide, and bacteriocins. Consequently, in this paper, the impact of LAB on the growth of FBP and their BAs formation in food has been reviewed extensively.

KEYWORDS:

• Foodborne pathogen
• biogenic amine
• lactic acid bacteria
• foodborne disease
• biopreservative
• antimicrobial substances