Bacteriocins of lactic acid bacteria : recent advances and production optimization

Abstract

Due to increasing demands for natural antimicrobial agents, bacteriocins emerged as the proper alternative for chemical preservatives and some hurdle technologies. However, only few bacteriocins are available in the market because of several constraints including low yield, high recovery cost and instability during the food-processing stages. This review highlights the recent methods employed to improve the properties and antimicrobial activity of bacteriocins as well as the optimization of their production. Bioengineering and nanotechnology approaches displayed potent tools for improving the physicochemical properties and enhancing the antimicrobial activity and spectrum. Bacteriocin production optimization trials exhibited higher efficiency with statistical-based methods rather than classical ones. Heterologous expression is also potent to multiply the bacteriocin production by other organisms rather than the original producer strain.