Characterization of Exopolysaccharides Produced by Thermophilic Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Tropical Fruits of Thailand.

In the present study, we have obtained two exopolysaccharide (EPS)-producing thermophilic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) that were isolated from tropical fruits of Thailand. The two strains, designated LY45 and PY45, were identified as Pediococcus pentosaceus and Lactobacillus amylovorus, respectively. Both plant-derived LAB strains, which produce neutral EPSs together with the acidic one, can grow vigorously at 45°C and even at 50°C.

Culture-independent bacterial community analysis of the salty-fermented fish paste products of Thailand and Laos.

A bacterial community analysis, using a culture-independent method (polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis), detected 17 species of bacteria including species of the genera Tetragenococcus, Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, Weissella Halanaerobium, Clostridium, and Sphingomonas in a traditional salty-fermented fish paste known as pla-ra or pa-daek in Thailand and Laos, which is used as a storage-stable multi-purpose seasoning. The representative genus of lactic acid bacteria seemed to vary in the 10 products collected from Thailand and Laos. Tetragenococci were common in products from central Thailand and Vientiane in Laos which had salinities of not less than 11% and pH values ranging from 5.

Use of a starter culture of lactic acid bacteria in plaa-som, a Thai fermented fish.

Plaa-som is a Thai fermented fish prepared from freshwater fish and various ingredients. In this study, two strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from natural plaa-som fermentation were used as starter cultures: Lactobacillus plantarum IFRPD P15 and Lactobacillus reuteri IFRPD P17. These strains were used as a mixed starter culture for plaa-som using an air-drying method (laminar airflow) with sterilized rice grains as the filler.