Indigenous strains of Lactobacillus isolated from the Istrian cheese as potential starter cultures

Istrian ewe’s milk cheese is an autochthonous product that is manufactured for generations on small family farms in the Croatian peninsula Istria. Traditional Istrian cheese is made from unpasteurized ewe’s milk, without the addition of starter cultures. Consequently, the specific flavour and textur...

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Main Authors: Nataša Hulak, Ana Žgomba Maksimović, Ana Kaić, Andrea Skelin, Mirna Mrkonjić Fuka
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Croatian Dairy Union 2016-11-01
Series:Mljekarstvo
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=248776&lang=en
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author Nataša Hulak
Ana Žgomba Maksimović
Ana Kaić
Andrea Skelin
Mirna Mrkonjić Fuka
author_facet Nataša Hulak
Ana Žgomba Maksimović
Ana Kaić
Andrea Skelin
Mirna Mrkonjić Fuka
author_sort Nataša Hulak
collection DOAJ
description Istrian ewe’s milk cheese is an autochthonous product that is manufactured for generations on small family farms in the Croatian peninsula Istria. Traditional Istrian cheese is made from unpasteurized ewe’s milk, without the addition of starter cultures. Consequently, the specific flavour and texture of the Istrian cheese is owed to metabolic processes of indigenous microflora of which Lactobacillus species play pivotal role. Characterisation and selection of indigenous lactobacilli may result in the potential use of selected strains as starter, bioprotective or even probiotic cultures. This study focuses on potential use of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus casei isolated from traditional Istrian cheese as starter cultures, by using methods that determine their proteolytic, lipolytic, antimicrobial and haemolytic potential, as well as their ability of acidification, autoaggregation and survival in simulated gastrointestinal conditions. Our results indicated that from 12 representative strains most revealed a low or moderate proteolytic activity as well as absence of lipolytic and haemolytic activities. From 12 strains, 5 of them showed a medium to strong acidification ability and lowered the pH of milk below 5.00 after 24 hours of incubation. Furthermore, almost all isolates exhibited antimicrobial activity against Serratia marcescens, and lowest number of isolates showed antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria innocua. The studied Lactobacillus strains revealed high survival rate in a simulated oral cavity and duodenum conditions, while the survival ability in a simulated gastric conditions was much lower. Ability to aggregate was low for all tested strains, after 3 hours and after 5 hours of incubation.
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spelling doaj.art-2523f739fc4c45a8bb5f99b968e984482022-12-21T19:38:00ZengCroatian Dairy UnionMljekarstvo0026-704X1846-40252016-11-0166428229210.15567/mljekarstvo.2016.0404Indigenous strains of Lactobacillus isolated from the Istrian cheese as potential starter culturesNataša Hulak 0Ana Žgomba Maksimović1Ana Kaić2Andrea Skelin3Mirna Mrkonjić Fuka4University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Microbiology, Svetošimunska 25, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaUniversity of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Microbiology, Svetošimunska 25, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaUniversity of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Microbiology, Svetošimunska 25, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaUniversity of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Microbiology, Svetošimunska 25, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaUniversity of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Microbiology, Svetošimunska 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia Istrian ewe’s milk cheese is an autochthonous product that is manufactured for generations on small family farms in the Croatian peninsula Istria. Traditional Istrian cheese is made from unpasteurized ewe’s milk, without the addition of starter cultures. Consequently, the specific flavour and texture of the Istrian cheese is owed to metabolic processes of indigenous microflora of which Lactobacillus species play pivotal role. Characterisation and selection of indigenous lactobacilli may result in the potential use of selected strains as starter, bioprotective or even probiotic cultures. This study focuses on potential use of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus casei isolated from traditional Istrian cheese as starter cultures, by using methods that determine their proteolytic, lipolytic, antimicrobial and haemolytic potential, as well as their ability of acidification, autoaggregation and survival in simulated gastrointestinal conditions. Our results indicated that from 12 representative strains most revealed a low or moderate proteolytic activity as well as absence of lipolytic and haemolytic activities. From 12 strains, 5 of them showed a medium to strong acidification ability and lowered the pH of milk below 5.00 after 24 hours of incubation. Furthermore, almost all isolates exhibited antimicrobial activity against Serratia marcescens, and lowest number of isolates showed antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria innocua. The studied Lactobacillus strains revealed high survival rate in a simulated oral cavity and duodenum conditions, while the survival ability in a simulated gastric conditions was much lower. Ability to aggregate was low for all tested strains, after 3 hours and after 5 hours of incubation.http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=248776&lang=enIstrian cheese; Lactobacillus spp.; starter cultures; antimicrobial activity
spellingShingle Nataša Hulak
Ana Žgomba Maksimović
Ana Kaić
Andrea Skelin
Mirna Mrkonjić Fuka
Indigenous strains of Lactobacillus isolated from the Istrian cheese as potential starter cultures
Mljekarstvo
Istrian cheese; Lactobacillus spp.; starter cultures; antimicrobial activity
title Indigenous strains of Lactobacillus isolated from the Istrian cheese as potential starter cultures
title_full Indigenous strains of Lactobacillus isolated from the Istrian cheese as potential starter cultures
title_fullStr Indigenous strains of Lactobacillus isolated from the Istrian cheese as potential starter cultures
title_full_unstemmed Indigenous strains of Lactobacillus isolated from the Istrian cheese as potential starter cultures
title_short Indigenous strains of Lactobacillus isolated from the Istrian cheese as potential starter cultures
title_sort indigenous strains of lactobacillus isolated from the istrian cheese as potential starter cultures
topic Istrian cheese; Lactobacillus spp.; starter cultures; antimicrobial activity
url http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=248776&lang=en
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