The main focal point of this review is the investigation of the roles of LAB (Lactic Acid Bacteria) in food preservation and milk fermentation. The LAB is composed of Gram-Positive, cocci, rods, non-spore forming and is producing lactic acid at the time of fermentation process of carbohydrates. LAB is used from ancient times for fermentation of food and dairy items. But nowadays it is the main attention phenomenon for scientific world. LAB has unique properties and has the ability to produce Bacteriocins, which is anti-microbial compound. LAB is also used for health medical treatment and is also used as substitute for chemicals in the process of food preservation. In the recent years, the scientific reports show that LAB has many positive health effects. LAB is used as starter culture in milk fermentation. LAB also gives flavor to yogurt and produces acid in milk fermentation and works as preservative agent. Due to dynamic characteristics of LAB it is important to educate the world about LAB vital roles in food industry and its hygiene properties.

Endocellulase is a key cellulase for cellulosic material pretreatment in the industry by hydrolyzing long cellulose chains into short chains. To investigate the endocellulase characteristics from Bacillus subtilis 1AJ3, and increase its production yield, this paper cloned an endocellulase gene denoted CEL-5A from strain 1AJ3 and expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3). The CEL-5A gene was sequenced with a full-length of 1500 bp, encoding a totally of 500 amino acids, and containing two domains: the GH5 family catalytic domain (CD) and the CBM3 family cellulose-binding domain (CBD). Recombinant endocellulase Cel-5A with a His-tag was purified of the Ni-NTA column, and SDS-PAGE results demonstrated that Cel-5A exhibited a molecular weight of 56.4 kDa. The maximum enzyme activity of Cel-5A was observed at pH 4.5 and 50 °C. Moreover, it was active over the broad temperature region of 30-60 °C, and stable within the pH range of 4.5-10.0. In addition, Co 2+ was able to increase enzyme activity, while the majority of metal ions demonstrated stable enzyme activity under low-concentration. The substrate specificity of Cel-5A exhibited a high specific activity on the β-1,3-1,4 glucan linkage from barley. The Michaelis-Menten constant and the maximum velocity of the recombinant Cel-5A for CMC-Na were determined as 14.87 mg/mL and 19.19 μmol/min/mg, respectively. When Cel-5A was applied to the switchgrass and coffee grounds, its color became lighter and the biomass was observed to loosen following hydrolyzation. The saccharification rate reached 12% of the total weight of switchgrass in 20 h. These properties highlight the potential application of Cel-5A as an endocellulase in the pretreatment of biomass, for example, in the coffee grounds/waste, and related industries.

Gelatin is a traditional functional protein with water-soluble properties and has the potential of forming transparent gels under certain conditions. The major source of gelatin is pigskin and is using in processed food and medicinal products. Though the use of food products adulterated with porcine-derived gelatin create concerns in the mind of Muslim communities, as in Islam; it is not acceptable or literally, it is called Haram in Islam Religion. However, in recent times initiatives have been taken in producing gelatin from Halal sources, such as fish, chicken and bovine slaughtered according to Islamic teachings. Therefore, we highlighted different porcine alternative derived gelatin sources and also methods to detect edible product contents pork or other haram stuff. This review could be useful in providing information to a large number of readers and food processing companies to minimize or if possible eradicate the use of porcine-derived gelatin in commercial food and medicinal products.

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Koumiss is a type of famous fermented mare milk and considered an important nutritious beverage in central Asian countries. However, the production of koumiss cannot meet public demand in the market due to availability of mare milk. In the present study, 52 lactic acid bacteria and 20 yeast strains from traditional homemade Kazakhstan koumiss were isolated and identified. The isolates were used in a trial that included fermented cow milk, and the flavor profiles, color, and taste to determine their contribution in the co-fermentation of cow milk. Based on the sensory evaluation, KZLAB13 and KZY10 strains were selected as the best cofermentation combinations. The optimal fermentation conditions were confirmed as the ratio of the starter culture 2.4:1.6 % (vol/vol) KZLAB13 strain to KZY10 strain and a temperature of 36°C for 16 h using response surface methodology. After evaluating the quality of the optimized cow-milk koumiss compared with the Kazakhstan koumiss, results suggested that cow milk fermented by these 2 strains possessed a promising taste, flavor, and physicochemical and rheological properties. Altogether, our results showed that cow milk fermented with a combination of KZLAB13 and KZY10 strains can simulate the taste, flavor, and quality of traditional koumiss. Our study provided a novel alternative to mare-milk koumiss and could be used in dairy programs to fulfill the needs of people.