Hydrolysis of whey proteins by Lactobacillus acidophilus, Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus grown in a chemically defined medium.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the ability of themophilic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) to hydrolyse the whey proteins beta-lactoglobulin (BLG) and alpha-lactalbumin (ALA) in a chemically defined medium (CDM).


RESULTS
The ability of three LAB strains to hydrolyse BLG and ALA was studied in a CDM supplemented with these proteins or whey protein concentrate (WPC). Protein hydrolysis was determined by Tricine/SDS-PAGE and RP-HPLC. Maximum BLG (21%) and ALA (26%) degradation by LAB was observed using WPC. Under starving conditions, BLG degradation was greater for Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus CRL 454 than for Lactobacillus acidophilus CRL 636 and Streptococcus thermophilus CRL 804. All three strains showed different peptide profiles and were not able to hydrolyse ALA under starvation.


CONCLUSIONS
The assayed LAB strains were able to degrade BLG during growth in a CDM and under starving conditions. The different peptide profiles obtained indicate distinct protease specificities.


CONCLUSIONS
These strains could be used as adjunct cultures to increase BLG digestibility in whey-based or whey-containing foods. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the ability of a Lact. acidophilus strain to degrade BLG.
Pescuma
M
M
Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos (CERELA)-CONICET, Tucumán, Argentina.
Hébert
E M
EM
Mozzi
F
F
Valdez
G Font de
GF
D000626:Aminopeptidases / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002611:Cheese; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry; D005285:Fermentation; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000209:etiology; D019649:Food Industry; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006868:Hydrolysis; D007768:Lactalbumin / Q000378:metabolism; D007779:Lactobacillus acidophilus / Q000378:metabolism*; D048668:Lactobacillus delbrueckii / Q000378:metabolism*; D007782:Lactoglobulins / Q000378:metabolism; D008892:Milk; D008894:Milk Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D048249:Streptococcus thermophilus / Q000378:metabolism*; D000067816:Whey Proteins; D015014:Yogurt
D003470:Culture Media; D007782:Lactoglobulins; D008894:Milk Proteins; D000067816:Whey Proteins; D007768:Lactalbumin; D000626:Aminopeptidases