| Summary: | This article presents new data on <i>Bifidobacterium longum</i> MC-42—a strain that has been actively used for the preparation of commercial dairy products in Russia for almost 40 years. It was demonstrated that this strain possesses high activities of <i>β</i>-galactosidase, α-glucosidase, and leucine arylaminidase; inhibits the growth of pathogens such as <i>Salmonella typhimurium</i>, <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>, and <i>Escherichia coli</i>; and can efficiently remove cholesterol from the cultural medium. The resistance of <i>B. longum</i> MC-42 determined for 15 commonly used antibiotics was in agreement with those previously reported for <i>Bifidobacterium</i> spp. The absence of frequently transmittable antibiotic resistance genes in the genome and the lack of undesirable activity of <i>β</i>-glucuronidase proved the safe use of <i>B. longum</i> MC-42 as a probiotic and starter culture. Additionally, the impact of two growth-promoting additives—yeast extract or milk protein hydrolysate containing supplementation—on the <i>B. longum</i> MC-42 fermentation profile was assessed. The introduction of these additives increases the maximum attainable viable cell count by orders of magnitude, significantly changed the profile of aminopeptidase activities in extracellular extracts, and influenced the antioxidant and antihypertensive properties of the obtained fermented products.
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