Table of Contents

ABSTRACT

Lactic acid bacteria have been employed in food processing since historical times. Indeed, many of these practices have carried on to modern times. However, the underlying mechanisms, and systems that make lactic acid bacteria suitable for this application have only recently come under scientific scrutiny. This review discusses some of the recent findings regarding lactic acid bacteriaand the various underlying metabolic pathways and enzymes that function to provide LAB with many of its beneficial qualities. Specifically, this review is centered around three principle pathways, namely,lactic acid metabolism, microbial inhibition via bacterocin synthesis and the molecular basis of the pro-biotic activity attributed to LAB. Furthermore, this review goes on to discuss possible future directions that LAB research can take, and the benefits of elucidating the underlying mechanisms of these microbial catalysts.

Keywords: lactic acid bacteria, probiotic, bacteriocin