Biopolymers Produced by Lactic Acid Bacteria: Characterization and Food Application

Abstract

Plants, animals, bacteria, and food waste are subjects of intensive research, as they are biological sources for the production of biopolymers. The topic links to global challenges related to the extended life cycle of products, and circular economy objectives. A severe and well-known threat to the environment, the non-biodegradability of plastics obliges different stakeholders to find legislative and technical solutions for producing valuable polymers which are biodegradable and also exhibit better characteristics for packaging products. Microorganisms are recognized nowadays as exciting sources for the production of biopolymers with applications in the food industry, package production, and several other fields. Ubiquitous organisms, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are well studied for the production of exopolysaccharides (EPS), but much less as producers of polylactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). Based on their good biodegradability feature, as well as the possibility to be obtained from cheap biomass, PLA and PHAs polymers currently receive increased attention from both research and industry. The present review aims to provide an overview of LAB strains’ characteristics that render them candidates for the biosynthesis of EPS, PLA, and PHAs, respectively. Further, the biopolymers’ features are described in correlation with their application in different food industry fields and for food packaging. Having in view that the production costs of the polymers constitute their major drawback, alternative solutions of biosynthesis in economic terms are discussed.

Bifidobacterium exopolysaccharides: new insights into engineering strategies, physicochemical functions, and immunomodulatory effects on host health

“…EPS produced by bifidobacteria are recognized as potentially biologically active compounds. They exhibit a diverse range of structures and are primarily synthesized in response to various environmental stimuli ( Nicolescu et al, 2023 ). Research indicates that the production rate of EPS by these bacteria is influenced by factors such as strain variation, environmental composition, and culture conditions, including temperature, pH, and carbon-nitrogen ratio ( Angelin and Kavitha, 2020 ; Mohd Nadzir et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Bifidobacteria, a genus within the Actinobacteria branch, are Gram-positive, anaerobic bacteria shaped like bacilli, acknowledged as a pivotal bacterial group in the intestinal microbial community, particularly during natural childbirth and infancy. First isolated in 1899 by Tissier from the feces of breastfed babies, this genus encompasses over 50 different species, including notable examples such as Bifidobacterium bifidum , Bifidobacterium longum , Bifidobacterium breve , Bifidobacterium animal , Bifidobacterium adolescentis , Bifidobacterium pseudostreptococcus , and Bifidobacterium pseudolongum ( Schell et al, 2002 ; Fanning et al, 2012b ; Eshaghi et al, 2017 ; Ruiz et al, 2017 ; Hidalgo-Cantabrana et al, 2018 ; Turroni et al, 2019 ; Yao et al, 2021 ; Li et al, 2023 ; Nicolescu et al, 2023 ; Pacyga-Prus et al, 2023 ).…”

“…Frontiers in Microbiology 02 frontiersin.org pseudostreptococcus, and Bifidobacterium pseudolongum (Schell et al, 2002;Fanning et al, 2012b;Eshaghi et al, 2017;Ruiz et al, 2017;Hidalgo-Cantabrana et al, 2018;Turroni et al, 2019;Yao et al, 2021;Li et al, 2023;Nicolescu et al, 2023;Pacyga-Prus et al, 2023).…”

Reuterin, Phenyllactic Acid, and Exopolysaccharides as Main Antifungal Molecules Produced by Lactic Acid Bacteria: A Scoping Review

“…These long-chain polysaccharides lend themselves as structural modifiers due to their water-holding capacity; moreover, given their beneficial effect, they are also a prebiotic, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, antioxidant, and antiviral alternative [ 64 ]. An additional and interesting application is to exploit these compounds to form films for biodegradable packaging [ 65 ].…”

Conditional language models enable the efficient design of proficient enzymes

“…The ability of LDH to mediate this conversion underpins the microbial synthesis of lactic acid, an important precursor for the synthesis of chiral compounds such as drugs and pesticides and, more importantly, in the production of bioplastics such as Poly-L-lactic Acid (PLA) 55,56 . PLA is recognised as a biodegradable, eco-friendly alternative to conventional petroleum-based plastics, aligning with the goal of a more circular economy by reducing waste 57,58 . However, its production demands lactic acid of the highest optical and chemical purity.…”