Publications by authors named "Graciela De Antoni"

Contamination by sp. and the accumulation of its mycotoxins in food and beverages have a high impact on human health and food safety. This investigation inquires the ability of brewer's yeasts discarded after fermentation (brewing fermentation residue, BFR) to synthesize bioactive compounds and to biocontrol sp.

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Kefir is a fermented beverage produced through the activity of its grains, which is constituted by lactic acid and acetic acid bacteria and yeasts. We studied the bacterial succession during multiple fermentation of Argentinian kefir in brown sugar, purified molasses or high-test molasses, using 16S high-throughput sequencing. Firmicutes was dominant (up to 98% of total population) in grains and beverages made from various sugar substrates, except in high-test molasses beverage, which was dominated by Proteobacteria (up to 78% of total population).

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Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) exert a strong antagonistic activity against many microorganisms including food spoilage organisms and may be used as an alternative to control biofilm formation of pathogens in food industries. The objective of this work was to investigate the ability of fifteen Salmonella strains isolated from poultry environment to form biofilms on different surfaces. In addition, the effect of Lactobacillus kefiri strains 8321 and 83113 and Lactobacillus plantarum 83114 and their surface proteins on biofilm development of Salmonella Enteritidis 115 was studied.

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Spray drying was applied for the production of kefir powder. The survival of microorganisms after drying, storage and simulated gastrointestinal (GI) conditions was investigated. Kefir was obtained by fermentation of milk and whey permeate, and was dehydrated directly (traditional kefir) or using different carriers (skim milk, whey permeate and maltodextrin).

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Fungal contamination negatively affects the production of cereal foods such as arepa loaf, an ancient corn bread consumed daily in several countries of Latin-America. Chemical preservatives such as potassium sorbate are applied in order to improve the arepa's shelf life and to reduce the health risks. The use of natural preservatives such as natural fermented products in food commodities is a common demand among the consumers.

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The objective of the work reported here was to study the antifungal capability of cell-free supernatants obtained from whey permeates after fermentation by the kefir grains CIDCA AGK1 against Fusarium graminearum growth and zearalenone (ZEA) production. The assays were performed in order to study the conidial germination inhibition -in liquid media- and the effect on fungal growth rate and the Latency phase -in solid media. We observed that fermented supernatants of pH 3·5 produced the highest percentages of inhibition of conidial germination.

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This work focuses on the production of liquid whey protein concentrates by ultrafiltration followed by thermal denaturation and homogenization of the ultrafiltrated concentrate, as well as on the production of ultrafiltrated permeates concentrated by reverse osmosis. Kefir grains (fresh and thawed) and/or commercial probiotic bacteria were inoculated in both liquid whey protein concentrates and concentrated ultrafiltrated permeates and grown at 25 °C for 24 h for the manufacture of fermented drinks. The physicochemical characterization (pH, titratable acidity, viscosity, and content of total solids, ash, fat and proteins) of the obtained drinks was then assessed and compared.

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Lactobacilli are generally regarded as safe; however, certain strains have been associated with cases of infection. Our workgroup has already assessed many functional properties of Lactobacillus kefiri, but parameters regarding safety must be studied before calling them probiotics. In this work, safety aspects and antimicrobial activity of L.

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Background: Fungal contamination of poultry feed causes economic losses to industry and represents a potential risk to animal health. The aim of the present study was to analyze the effectiveness of whey fermented with kefir grains as additive to reduce fungal incidence, thus improving feed safety.

Results: Whey fermented for 24 h at 20 °C with kefir grains (100 g L(-1) ) reduced conidial germination of Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus parasiticus, Aspergillus terreus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Penicillium crustosum, Trichoderma longibrachiatum and Rhizopus sp.

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We investigated the mucus-binding properties of aggregating and non-aggregating potentially probiotic strains of kefir-isolated Lactobacillus kefiri, using different substrates. All the strains were able to adhere to commercial gastric mucin (MUCIN) and extracted mucus from small intestine (SIM) and colon (CM). The extraction of surface proteins from bacteria using LiCl or NaOH significantly reduced the adhesion of three selected strains (CIDCA 8348, CIDCA 83115 and JCM 5818); although a significant proportion (up to 50%) of S-layer proteins were not completely eliminated after treatments.

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Giardiasis, caused by the protozoan Giardia intestinalis, is one of the most common intestinal diseases worldwide and constitutes an important problem for the public health systems of various countries. Kefir is a probiotic drink obtained by fermenting milk with 'kefir grains', which consist mainly of bacteria and yeasts that coexist in a complex symbiotic association. In this work, we studied the ability of kefir to protect mice from G.

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of Bifidobacterium strains to prevent the effects associated with Clostridium difficile infection in a hamster model of enterocolitis. After clindamycin treatment (30 mg/kg), animals were infected intragastrically with C. difficile (5×108 CFU per animal).

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The objective of this work was to test the protective effect of a mixture (MM) constituted by kefir-isolated microorganisms (Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus kefir, Lc. lactis, Kluyveromyces marxianus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae) in a hamster model of infection with Clostridium difficile, an anaerobic Gram-positive bacterium that causes diarrhoea. Placebo or MM was administered ad libitum in drinking water from day 0 to the end of treatment.

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Kefir is a dairy product obtained by fermentation of milk with a complex microbial population and several health-promoting properties have been attributed to its consumption. In this work, we tested the ability of different kefir-isolated bacterial and yeast strains (Lactobacillus kefir, Lb. plantarum, Lactococcus lactis subps.

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Kefir is a fermented-milk beverage originating and widely consumed in the Caucasus as well as in Eastern Europe and is a source of bacteria with potential probiotic properties. Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli producing Shiga toxin is commonly associated with food-transmitted diseases; the most prevalent serotype causing epidemics is Esch. coli O157:H7.

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We report here a comparative analysis of the growth, acidification capacity, and chemical and microbiologic composition between kefir grains after 20 subcultures in whey at 20, 30, and 37°C and the original kefir grains coming from milk along with a determination of the microbiological composition of the fermented whey as compared with that of traditional fermented milk. When fermentation was carried out repeatedly at 30 or 37°C, kefir grains changed their kefir-like appearance, exhibited reduced growth rates, had a lower diversity of yeasts and water content, and a higher protein-to-polysaccharide ratio compared with the original kefir grains. In contrast, at 20°C kefir grains could remain in whey for prolonged periods without altering their acidification capacity, growth rate, macroscopic appearance or chemical and microbiologic composition-with the only difference being a reduction in certain yeast populations after 20 subcultures in whey.

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In this work, the ability of S-layer proteins from kefir-isolated Lactobacillus kefir strains to antagonize the cytophatic effects of toxins from Clostridium difficile (TcdA and TcdB) on eukaryotic cells in vitro was tested by cell detachment assay. S-layer proteins from eight different L. kefir strains were able to inhibit the damage induced by C.

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A two-strain starter culture containing Lactobacillus plantarum CIDCA 83114, a potential probiotic strain isolated from kefir grains, and Streptococcus thermophilus CIDCA 321 was tested for the preparation of a fermented milk product. Kluyveromyces marxianus CIDCA 8154, a yeast with immunomodulatory properties was included to formulate a three-strain starter culture. Supernatants of enterohaemorragic Escherichia coli, shiga-toxin-producing strain, along with a two-strain or a three-strain starter culture were included in the medium of Vero-cell surface cultures.

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In this work, a method based on Raman spectroscopy in combination with Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Partial Least Square-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) has been developed for the rapid differentiation of heterofermentative related lactobacilli. In a first approach, Lactobacillus kefir strains were discriminated from other species of heterofermentative lactobacilli: Lb. parakefir and Lb.

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The injuries caused by spray drying (SD) of three potential probiotic lactobacilli isolated from kefir grains and the impact on some probiotic properties, were evaluated. Results demonstrated that Lactobacillus plantarum 83114 and L. kefir 8321 showed a slight reduction of viability (0.

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Survival of two Lactobacillus kefir strains after spray drying in reconstituted skim milk with or without the addition of 12.5 g monosodium glutamate/l, 20 g sucrose/l, or 20 g fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS)/l and during subsequent storage under different conditions of temperature (20 and 30°C) and relative humidity (RH) (0, 11 and 23%) was evaluated. After being dried, L.

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The present work evaluates the kinetics of the interaction of S-layer protein from Lactobacillus brevis with lipid monolayers by measuring the changes in the surface pressure as a function of time for different lipid compositions and at different lateral compressions. At high surface pressures, or at high cholesterol ratios, in which membrane rigidity and surface polarity are increased, the kinetics can be described by a pure diffusional process. At low pressures or in the absence of cholesterol, the kinetics of protein interaction can be interpreted as a consequence of a relaxation process of the membrane structure coupled to diffusion.

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The effect of freeze-drying on viability and probiotic properties of a microbial mixture containing selected bacterial and yeast strains isolated from kefir grains (Lactobacillus kefir, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactococcus lactis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Kluyveromyces marxianus) was studied. The microorganisms were selected according to their potentially probiotic properties in vitro already reported. Two types of formulations were performed, a microbial mixture (MM) suspended in milk and a milk product fermented with MM (FMM).

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S-layer proteins from Lactobacillus kefir and Lactobacillus brevis are able to adsorb on the surface of positively charged liposomes composed by Soybean lecithin, cholesterol and stearylamine. The different K values for S-layer proteins isolated from L. kefir and L.

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Toxigenic strains of Clostridium difficile were co-cultured with different strains of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli. Spent culture supernatants were tested for biological activity on cultured Vero cells. Co-culture of C.

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