Published in Scientific Bulletin. Series F. Biotechnologies, Vol. XXII
Written by Gabriela N. ŢENEA, Juan Martin GUAÑA, Clara ORTEGA, Pamela HURTADO, Tatiana DELGADO, Lucía YÉPEZ

In Ecuador the mild climate, the inappropriate storage condition and food manipulation are suitable environments for spoilage/pathogens growth, therefore, to satisfy with the consumer demands on food quality, searching for novel natural preservative is of interest. Lactic acid bacteria are very attractive to be exploited from the biotechnological point of view. In this research, the effectiveness of bacteriocin-like substances produced by Lactobacillus plantarum UTNCys5-4 (Genbank No KY041686.1) isolated from native wild-type tropical fruits to control the spoilage bacterial growth in raw meat was evaluated. The microbiological analysis indicated that the beef meat filets purchased from local market exhibit contamination. A 2.3-fold reduction of total coliforms viability was registered when treated the raw meat with crude-extract containing Cys5-4 bacteriocin up to day 12 of storage with refrigeration. A significant change of meat pH was observed in the non-bacteriocin treated samples along with the increase in the concentration of released ammonia indicating the degradation of protein. A visible change in color of meat was observed only in the samples treated with nitrite. The study revealed the high potential of bacteriocin Cys5-4 to inhibit the growth of spoilage bacteria, indicating its promising approach to be use in preservation.

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