Jennifer Burgain

In vitro interactions between probiotic bacteria and milk proteins probed by atomic force microscopy.

Interactions between microbial cells and milk proteins are important for cell location into dairy matrices. In this study, interactions between two probiotic strains, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1, and milk proteins (micellar casein, native and denatured whey proteins) were studied. The bacterial surface characterization was realized with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to evaluate surface composition (in terms of proteins, polysaccharides and lipid-like compounds) and electrophoretic mobility that provide information on surface charge of both bacteria and proteins along the 3-7 pH range. In addition, atomic force microscopy (AFM) enabled the identification of specific interactions between bacteria and whey proteins, in contrast to the observed nonspecific interactions with micellar casein. These specific events appeared to be more important for the GG strain than for the GR-1 strain, showing that matrix interaction is strain-specific. Furthermore, our study highlighted that in addition to the nature of the strains, many other factors influence the bacterial interaction with dairy matrix including the nature of the proteins and the pH of the media.

Lactic acid bacteria in dairy food: surface characterization and interactions with food matrix components.

This review gives an overview of the importance of interactions occurring in dairy matrices between Lactic Acid Bacteria and milk components. Dairy products are important sources of biological active compounds of particular relevance to human health. These compounds include immunoglobulins, whey proteins and peptides, polar lipids, and lactic acid bacteria including probiotics. A better understanding of interactions between bioactive components and their delivery matrix may successfully improve their transport to their target site of action. Pioneering research on probiotic lactic acid bacteria has mainly focused on their host effects. However, very little is known about their interaction with dairy ingredients. Such knowledge could contribute to designing new and more efficient dairy food, and to better understand relationships between milk constituents. The purpose of this review is first to provide an overview of the current knowledge about the biomolecules produced on bacterial surface and the composition of the dairy matter. In order to understand how bacteria interact with dairy molecules, adhesion mechanisms are subsequently reviewed with a special focus on the environmental conditions affecting bacterial adhesion. Methods dedicated to investigate the bacterial surface and to decipher interactions between bacteria and abiotic dairy components are also detailed. Finally, relevant industrial implications of these interactions are presented and discussed.

Effect of dairy powders fortification on yogurt textural and sensorial properties: a review

Yogurts are important dairy products that have known a rapid market growth over the past few decades. Industrial yogurt manufacture involves different processing steps. Among them, protein fortification of the milk base is elemental. It greatly enhances yogurt nutritional and functional properties and prevents syneresis, an undesirable yogurt textural defect. Protein enrichment can be achieved by either concentration process (evaporation under vacuum and membrane processing: reverse osmosis and/or ultrafiltration) or by addition of dairy ingredients. Traditionally, skim milk powder (SMP) is used to enrich the milk base before fermentation. However, increased quality and availability of other dairy ingredients such as milk protein isolates (MPI), milk protein concentrates (MPC) whey protein isolates (WPI) and concentrates (WPC), micellar casein (MC) and caseinates have promoted their use as alternatives to SMP. Substituting different dry ingredients for skim milk powder in yogurt making affects the yogurt mix protein composition and subsequent textural and sensorial properties. This review focuses on various type of milk protein used for fortification purposes and their influence on these properties.

Impacts of pH-mediated EPS structure on probiotic bacterial pili–whey proteins interactions

Probiotic bacteria are routinely incorporated into dairy foods because of the health benefits they can provide when consumed. In this work, the marked pH-dependence of the pili/EPS organization at the outer surface of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG is characterized in detail by Single Cell Force Microscopy and cell electrophoretic mobility measurements analyzed according to formalisms for nanomechanical contact and soft particle electrokinetics, respectively. At pH 6.8, LGG pili are easily accessible by AFM tips functionalized with whey proteins for specific binding, while at pH 4.8 the collapsed EPS surface layer significantly immobilized the LGG pili. This resulted in their reduced accessibility to the specific whey-coated AFM tip, and to stronger whey protein-pili rupture forces. Thus, pili interactions with whey proteins are screened to an extent that depends on the pH-mediated embedment of the pili within the EPS layer.

Milk fat globule membrane glycoproteins: Valuable ingredients for lactic acid bacteria encapsulation?

ABSTRACT The membrane (Milk Fat Globule Membrane – MFGM) surrounding the milk fat globule is becoming increasingly studied for its use in food applications due to proven nutritional and technological properties. This review focuses first on current researches which have been led on the MFGM structure and composition and also on laboratory and industrial purification and isolation methods developed in the last few years. The nutritional, health benefits and techno-functional properties of the MFGM are then discussed. Finally, new techno-functional opportunities of MFGM glycoproteins as a possible ingredient for Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) encapsulation are detailed. The ability of MFGM to form liposomes entrapping bioactive compounds has been already demonstrated. One drawback is that liposomes are too small to be used for bacteria encapsulation. For the first time, this review points out the numerous advantages to use MFGM glycoproteins as a protecting, encapsulating matrix for bacteria and especially for LAB.

Surface composition of food powders

As food powder production increases it is time to make use of new methodologies to gain a detailed understand of these powders and their functional properties. A growing number of interesting methods have been used to characterize the powder surface; others are in development (pharmaceuticals, cosmetics fields, etc.). Until now, a major problem facing researchers and manufacturers was the lack of a central source of information that provides practical knowledge focused solely on food powders surfaces. The first section of this chapter outlines recent methodologies used to characterize the surface of food powders, before factors affecting the surface composition. Finally, relationships between powder surfaces and functional properties are highlighted.

Adhesive interactions between milk fat globule membrane and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG inhibit bacterial attachment to Caco-2 TC7 intestinal cell

Milk is the most popular matrix for the delivery of lactic acid bacteria, but little is known about how milk impacts bacterial functionality. Here, the adhesion mechanisms of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) surface mutants to a milk component, the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM), were compared using atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM results revealed the key adhesive role of the LGG SpaCBA pilus in relation to MFGM. A LGG mutant without exopolysaccharides but with highly exposed pili improved the number of adhesive events between LGG and MFGM compared to LGG wild type (WT). In contrast, the number of adhesive events decreased significantly for a LGG mutant without SpaCBA pili. Moreover, the presence of MFGM in the dairy matrix was found to decrease significantly the bacterial attachment ability to Caco-2 TC7 cells. This work thus demonstrated a possible competition between LGG adhesion to MFGM and to epithelial intestinal cells. This competition could negatively impact the adhesion capacity of LGG to intestinal cells in vivo, but requires further substantiation.

Encapsulation of Probiotics in Milk Protein Microcapsules

The use of probiotic bacteria as nutraceuticals has expanded rapidly in recent years. A great number of the claims of health promotion attributed to probiotics are dependent on cell numbers and viability in the intestinal tract. Unfortunately, probiotics administration results in loss of viability due to the passage through the stomach (elevated acidity and bile salt concentrations). Therefore, formulation of probiotics into microcapsules is an interesting and promising way to avoid viability losses. Various compositions of matrices for microcapsules can be envisaged if the materials are food grade; milk proteins are one such material. This chapter will develop in detail how these dairy protein matrices can be a good choice to encapsulate probiotics and to control the release of these cells across the intestinal tract.