In vitro and in silico characterisation of Lactobacillus paraplantarum D2-1, a starter culture for soymilk fermentation

Abstract

Soymilk contains several functional nutrients and is thus a promising ingredient for production of functional foods. The present research aimed to study starter properties, functional characteristics and safety of Lactobacillus paraplantarum D2-1, a promising starter culture for soymilk fermentation. Strain D2-1 actively fermented soymilk within 24 h but had weak activity of additional acid production after 7 d. Succinate and acetoin, which could be linked to flavour and taste, were accumulated in fermented soymilk. In vitro study revealed that the organism has several beneficial properties, including high survival ability in artificial gastric juice, high abilities of mucus adhesion and biofilm formation and production of γ-aminobutyric acid and conjugated linoleic acid, without any significant risks for consumption. Genome sequencing supported the desirable metabolic properties of the strain. These results indicate that L. paraplantarum D2-1 is a suitable starter for soymilk fermentation and is a promising probiotic candidate that can be used safely.

Keywords:

• Lactobacillus paraplantarum
• soymilk
• starter
• probiotics
• safety assessment
• genomics

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Ms. Misaki Yamaguchi (Department of Food and Cosmetic Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture) for her technical assistance. Isopp AgriSystem Co. Ltd. is acknowledged for provision of soy powder and β Food Science Co. Ltd. is for provision of oligosaccharides. Computational analysis was performed in part on the NIG supercomputer at the Research Organization of Information and Systems (ROIS).

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.