Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Apr 28;11(9):1284.
doi: 10.3390/foods11091284.

Biological Functions of Exopolysaccharides from Lactic Acid Bacteria and Their Potential Benefits for Humans and Farmed Animals

María Laura Werning  1 , Annel M Hernández-Alcántara  2 , María Julia Ruiz  1   3 , Lorena Paola Soto  1   4 , María Teresa Dueñas  5 , Paloma López  2 , Laureano Sebastián Frizzo  1   4
Affiliations
Review

Biological Functions of Exopolysaccharides from Lactic Acid Bacteria and Their Potential Benefits for Humans and Farmed Animals

María Laura Werning et al. Foods. .

Abstract

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) synthesize exopolysaccharides (EPS), which are structurally diverse biopolymers with a broad range of technological properties and bioactivities. There is scientific evidence that these polymers have health-promoting properties. Most commercialized probiotic microorganisms for consumption by humans and farmed animals are LAB and some of them are EPS-producers indicating that some of their beneficial properties could be due to these polymers. Probiotic LAB are currently used to improve human health and for the prevention and treatment of specific pathologic conditions. They are also used in food-producing animal husbandry, mainly due to their abilities to promote growth and inhibit pathogens via different mechanisms, among which the production of EPS could be involved. Thus, the aim of this review is to discuss the current knowledge of the characteristics, usage and biological role of EPS from LAB, as well as their postbiotic action in humans and animals, and to predict the future contribution that they could have on the diet of food animals to improve productivity, animal health status and impact on public health.

Keywords: EPS; LAB; exopolysaccharides; food-producing animals; lactic acid bacteria; probiotics.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Anadón A., Martínez-Larrañaga M.R., Ares I., Martínez M.A. Chapter 55—Probiotics: Safety and toxicity considerations. In: Gupta R.C., editor. Nutraceuticals. Academic Press; Cambridge, MA, USA: 2016. pp. 777–798. - DOI
    1. Liu W., Pang H., Zhang H., Cai Y. Lactic Acid Bacteria. Springer; Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany: 2014. Biodiversity of lactic acid bacteria; pp. 103–203.
    1. Emerenini E. Isolation and molecular characterization of lactic acid bacteria isolated from fresh fruits and vegetables using nested PCR analysis. Br. Microbiol. Res. J. 2013;3:368–377. doi: 10.9734/BMRJ/2013/2520. - DOI
    1. Ruiz-Rodríguez L., Bleckwedel J., Eugenia O.M., Pescuma M., Mozzi F. Lactic acid bacteria. Ind. Biotechnol. Microorg. 2017;1:395–451.
    1. Ruas-Madiedo P. Biosynthesis and bioactivity of exopolysaccharides produced by probiotic bacteria. In: Moreno F.J., Sanz L.M., editors. Food Oligosaccharides. Wiley; Hoboken, NJ, USA: 2014. pp. 118–133. - DOI