INTRODUCTION cholesterol-lowering activities [4]. Lactic acid bacteria are
A variety of polysaccharides produced by plants interest has been shown in their use since they could be
(cellulose, pectin and starch), algae (agar, alginates and considering “natural” products. Some LAB is capable of
carrageen an) and bacteria (alginate, dextran, gellan, producing a range of EPS. Of those, which have been
pullulan and xanthan gum) are commonly used as food investigated for EPS production, the majority has been
additives for their gelling, stabilizing or thickening isolated from dairy products [5-11]. A lot of Lactic Acid
properties [1]. However, the use of polysaccharides Bacteria (LAB) that produce exopolysaccharide (EPS) are
excreted during the manufacture of food, such as available from indigenously fermented foods but lack of
yoghurt, might be attractive for the food industry and a local central culture collection center could not bring out
should constitute a new generation of food thickeners. the quality, quantity and physiological characteristics of
To date, exopolysaccharides (EPSs) produced by Lactic such organisms or their EPS. However, information on
Acid Bacteria (LAB) have received increasing interest their biosynthesis and molecular organization and
mainly because of their GRAS (generally regarded as safe) fermentation strategy is rather scarce and the kinetics of
status [1] and their rheological (LAB) properties in food EPS formation is poorly described. Moreover, the
to improve the texture of fermented products [2]. Some production of EPS is low and often unstable and their
EPSs produced by LAB present potential health-beneficial downstream processing is difficult. This study was
properties, such as immune stimulation [3], anti-ulcer and therefore, aimed at isolation and identification of LAB