@inbook{
author = "Radulović, Zorica and Petrović, Tanja and Bulajić, Snežana",
year = "2012",
abstract = "Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are a heterogeneous group of bacteria widely distributed in
nature. These bacteria are found in gastrointestinal (GI) and urogenital tract of humans and
animals; they are present on plant material, in milk and meat, and numerous fermented
foods. Lactic acid bacteria have been associated with traditional dairy products, cereals,
vegetable and meat fermented foods, due to their natural presence leading to spontaneous
fermentation. They are also used as starter cultures in industrial food production, as well as
in the production of probiotic products due to their potential health benefits to consumer.
Milk and dairy products are the most examined food system for the delivery of probiotic
bacteria to the human gut. The probiotic concept has progressed and is now in the focus of
different research. Significant improvements have been made in selection and
characterization of new cultures and their application in food production.
The food products, which are produced by traditional methods, exhibit a rich biodiversity
with the respect to bacterial contents. From these products, new probiotic strains with the
potential functional properties can been isolated and selected. The selected strains have to
be further characterized in order to be used in the food industry. Before the probiotics can
benefit human health, they must fulfill several criteria including: a) scientifically validated
health properties; b) good technological properties meaning that they can be manufactured
and incorporated into food products without loosing viability, functionality and technological
performance; c) high survival through the upper gastrointestinal tract and high viability at
its site of action; d) antagonistic activity to pathogens; e) antibiotic susceptibility; and f) to be
able to function in the gut environment. Bearing in mind importance of antibiotic resistance
of LAB in food chain, antibiotic susceptibility of potential probiotic strains is a very
important criteria for their selection.
In the recent decade, releasing of antibiotics in biosphere seriously increased, leading to a
strong selective pressure for the emergence and persistence of resistant LAB strains. Since
LAB are naturally present in traditionally made fermented food and GI tract and are also
added as starter culture or probiotic bacteria in industrial food production, concerns have
been raised about the antibiotic resistance of these beneficial bacteria strains. Probiotic
bacteria can help maintaining balance in gastrointestinal tract in cases of diarrhea caused by
antibiotic treatment. However, there is high risk associated with the ability of these resistant strains to transmit the resistance gene to pathogenic bacteria in gut microbiota. This can
complicate the treatment of a patient with an antibiotic resistant bacterial infection or
disease. The circulation of genes coding for antibiotic resistance from beneficial LAB in the
food chain via animals to humans is a complex problem. Therefore, there is a need to evaluate
the safety of potential probitic strains regarding their ability to acquire and disseminate
antibiotic resistance determinants in selection of LAB.
In this study, importance of LAB in the food chain will be reviewed. Morphological and
biochemical characteristics of lactobacilli, bifidobactera and enterococci, as well as criteria
for probiotic selection and role of probiotics in health benefit will be discussed. Antibiotic
susceptibility as criteria for potential probiotic bacteria selection and mechanisms of gene
transfers will be considered.",
publisher = "InTech",
journal = "Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria - A Continuous Challenge in the New Millennium",
booktitle = "Antibiotic Susceptibility of Probiotic Bacteria",
pages = "549-576",
doi = "10.5772/28915"
}
