Lactic acid bacteria and yeasts in kefir grains and kefir made from them.
In an investigation of the changes in the microflora along the pathway: kefir grains (A)-->kefir made from kefir grains (B)-->kefir made from kefir as inoculum (C), the following species of lactic acid bacteria (83-90%) of the microbial count in the grains) were identified: Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, Lactobacillus helveticus, Lactobacillus casei subsp. pseudoplantarum and Lactobacillus brevis. Yeasts (10-17%) identified were Kluyveromyces marxianus var. lactis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida inconspicua and Candida maris. In the microbial population of kefir grains and kefir made from them the homofermentative lactic streptococci (52-65% and 79-86%, respectively) predominated. Within the group of lactobacilli, the homofermentative thermophilic species L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and L. helveticus (70-87% of the isolated bacilli) predominated. Along the pathway A-->B-->C, the streptococcal proportion in the total kefir microflora increased by 26-30% whereas the lactobacilli decreased by 13-23%. K. marxianus var. lactis was permanently present in kefir grains and kefirs, whereas the dominant lactose-negative yeast in the total yeast flora of the kefir grains dramatically decreased in kefir C.
Simova
E
E
Laboratory of Applied Microbiology, Institute of Microbiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 26 Maritza Boulevard, 4002 Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Beshkova
D
D
Angelov
A
A
Hristozova
Ts
Ts
Frengova
G
G
Spasov
Z
Z
D000332:Aerobiosis; D000818:Animals; D006094:Gram-Positive Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D008892:Milk / Q000382:microbiology*; D015003:Yeasts / Q000302:isolation & purification*
D019344:Lactic Acid