Characterization and health-promoting properties of traditional mountain cheese microbiota

This study aimed to characterize the autochthonous lactic acid bacteria (LAB) established in Traditional Mountain (TM) cheese, and to select strains with technological or health-promoting properties for cheese production. The results showed a high biodiversity of wild LAB within TM-cheese and the presence of few strains with bioactive properties. The two best technological performing strains (a Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and a Streptococcus thermophilus) were tested as starter cultures in experimental TM-cheese production. They did not reduce the traditional high biodiversity of TM-cheese, neither standardized its sensory attributes, and suppressed the incidence of the pathogen Sc. gallolyticus. Furthermore, a Lb. brevis strain showed in vitro a high production of GABA and was tested as probiotic strain in two animal studies. In the first study, it survived during transit through the mouse gastro-intestinal tract; in the second study its therapeutic efficiency was assessed for treating induced metabolic obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in mice.