3. Development of safe, functional probiotic starter cultures
for Nham
In order to be qualified as a candidate probiotic culture, other prerequisite
probiotic properties of bacteriocin-producing LAB have to be
assessed according to regulatory guidelines for probiotics which may
vary in different countries. In general, it must be a strain that is generally
recognized as safe (GRAS). They need to survive gastrointestinal (GI)
transit in sufficient numbers to exert their beneficial effects when administered
orally. Therefore, during GI passage, in order to colonize
the intestinal mucus and offer an antagonistic effect against pathogenic
microorganisms, cultures are required to tolerate the presence of pepsin
and the pH of the stomach, the protease-rich conditions of the duodenum
and the antimicrobial activity of bile salts in the upper part of the
intestine. In addition, they should be able to adhere to intestinal
mucus which is a prerequisite to exert beneficial effects, such as the exclusion
of enteropathogenic bacteria and immunomodulation of the
host (Osmanagaoglu, Kiran, & Ataoglu, 2010). The ability of a strain to
adhere to intestinal mucus may prolong the time probiotics can remain
in the GI tract and can influence the host.