Patent Application: US-99390409-A

Abstract:
the current inventions relates to a strain of lactobacillus amylovorus designated fst 2 . 11 as deposited under the accession no dsm 19280 on 13 apr . 2007 in the dsmz depository , and strains substantially similar thereto also encoding anti - fungal and bread antistaling properties and applications thereof .

Description:
gluten - free sourdough was prepared according to a recipe recently developed at the ucc ( table i ). fermentation was performed either at 30 ° c . or 37 ° c . lab from 24 h - fermented gluten - free sourdoughs were cultivated on mmrs5 ( meroth et al ., 2003 ) agar supplemented with 0 . 05 g / l bromcresol green and incubated at 30 ° c . for 48 h under anaerobic conditions . from the plates containing 30 to 300 colonies , 3 colonies per colony form were subcultured and identified by sequence analysis of the first 1000 base pairs ( bp ) of the 16s rdna . to determine the closest relatives of the partial 16s rdna sequences , a genbank dna database search was conducted . a similarity of & gt ; 98 % to 16s rdna sequences of type strains was used as the criterion for identification . the moulds aspergillus fumigatus j9 , aspergillus niger fst 4 . 21 , fusarium culmorum fst 4 . 05 , fusarium graminearum fst 4 . 02 , penicillium expansum fst 4 . 22 as well as penicillium roqueforti fst 4 . 11 were used as target organisms for assay of antifungal activity in vitro ( table ii ). moulds were cultivated on malt extract agar ( oxoid , hampshire , uk ) and the fungal spore solutions were obtained as described previously ( magnusson and schniirer , 2001 ). briefly , a . niger , f . culmorum , p . expansum and p . roqueforti were grown on malt extract agar until sporulation occurred . spores were harvested in physiological solution and stored at − 80 ° c . in a glycerol / water ( 50 : 50 v / v ) solution . spores were transferred from this stock solution into a synthetic nutrient - poor medium ( nirenberg , 1976 ). vigorous stirring ( 200 rpm ) for 8 days at room temperature provided a fungal cell and conidial suspensions with a concentration of 5 × 10 7 spores ml − 1 . the inhibitory activity of l . amylovorus fst 2 . 11 against selected spoilage moulds and bacteria ( see table ii for full list ) was investigated using the overlay method ( magnusson and schnürer , 2001 ) with some modifications . to avoid any ph effect , the screening was carried out on buffered mmrs5 agar plates . the medium was buffered to ph 6 . 5 using a 75 mmol kh 2 po 4 solution . lactobacillus plantarum fst 1 . 7 was included as a positive control , as the antifungal activity of this strain has been recently characterised ( dal bello et al ., 2007 ). additionally , lactobacillus sanfranciscensis lth 2581 was used as a negative control . lab strains were placed as cell spots on the plates and incubated at 30 ° c . for 48 h in anaerobic jars . to test antimicrobial activity against spoilage bacteria , plates were overlaid with 12 ml of standard i agar ( merck , germany ) containing 100 μl of an overnight spoilage bacterial culture . plates were then incubated at 30 or 37 ° c . for 60 h . to investigate antifungal activity , a fungal spore solution ( ca . 10 4 spores / ml ) was sprayed by nebulisation on the surface of plates . plates were then incubated at room temperature for 3 days . inhibitory activity was scored as follows : −, no inhibition ; +, very weak inhibition around the colonies ; ++, low inhibition with little clear zones around the colonies ; +++, strong inhibition with detectable zones around the colonies ; ++++, very strong inhibition with large clear zones and nearly no growth around the colonies . isolation and characterisation of antifungal compounds produced by l . amylovorus fst 2 . 11 antifungal compounds of l . amylovorus fst 2 . 11 were isolated according to the method of ström et al . ( 2002 ) with a number of modifications . briefly , a microtiter well spore germination bioassay was utilised to determine the activity of compounds from culture filtrate against the indicator fungus a . fumigatus j9 . cell - free supernatant was fractioned on a c 18 solid phase extraction ( spe ) column , allowing the separation of the hydrophilic phase from the hydrophobic phase . prior to solid phase extraction a 10 ml sample of broth was taken and distilled with the distillate being examined for the presence of organic acids ( up to 10 c — atoms ). these acids were identified using comparative gas chromatography ( gc ) with mass spectroscopy ( ms ) with respect to elution time and molecular weight . all other compounds in the broth were separated using hplc . to increase the ease of collection of compounds an initial separation was carried out with respect to elution time on the hplc unit with the 99 . 8 % mecn phase being separated into 3 individual phases and evaluated separately . during separation all hplc peaks corresponding to individual compounds were collected separately ( no mass fractionating and bioassaying were performed ) and once collected each compounds was either freeze dried or dried under a flow of clean dry nitrogen gas . each compound was then evaluated for antimicrobial activity at a 50 mg / ml level using the spore germination bioassay described previously , with the level of outgrowth being examined both visually and also using a microtiter plate reader at a wave length of 490 nm . the chemical structure , molecular weight and fragmentation behaviour of compounds active in the bioassay were identified using 1 h nuclear magnetic resonance ( nmr ), lc - ms , and gc - ms . a q tof lc - ms was used to determine the molecular weights and fragmentation pattern of each compound ( table iii ), with these being compared to previously reported results . the collected 1 h nmr results were compared with previously reported nmr chemical shifts from a number of nmr databases . these results acted as a final confirmation of the molecule isolated . the suitability of l . amylovorus fst 2 . 11 as starter for wheat sourdough fermentation was investigated and compared to that of traditional sourdough starters l . sanfranciscensis lth 2851 and l . plantarum fst 1 . 7 . briefly , 80 ml of mmrs5 broth were inoculated ( 1 % level ) with an overnight culture and incubated for 24 h at 30 ° c . cells were harvested by centrifugation at 4000 rpm for 10 min , washed twice and resuspended in 40 ml sterile tap water ( containing ca . 5 × 10 9 cfu / ml ). six - hundred grams of wheat flour and 600 ml of sterile tap water ( dough yield of 200 ) were mixed to homogeneity for 1 min with a kenwood mixer mixed . the selected starter was inoculated at a final concentration of ca . 10 5 cfu / g dough . sourdough fermentation was performed at 30 ° c . for 48 h . lab cell growth during sourdough fermentation was investigated . briefly , 1 g sourdough was serially diluted in sterile physiological solution and the lab cell counts were determined on mmrs5 agar plates . at each time point , ph and tta values were also measured using a suspension of sourdough ( 10 g ), acetone ( 5 ml ) and distilled water ( 95 ml ) according to a standard method ( arbeitsgemeinschaft getreideforschung e . v ., 1994 ). to confirm the presence of the inoculated starter lab , at the end of fermentation 3 colonies per colony form were picked from mmrs5 agar plates containing 30 to 300 colonies , purified and subjected to partial 16s rdna sequencing according to a previously described method ( meroth et al ., 2003 ). the sourdoughs fermented by the selected lab were used for the production of wheat bread . doughs were prepared by replacing 20 % of the flour with an equivalent quantity of flour in the form of sourdough fermented by the selected strain . dough formulations based on a flour quantity of 3000 g were mixed in a stephan mixer ( stephan sohne , hameln , germany ) at level 2 ( 1400 rpm ) for 20 s prior to scraping down and mixed for further 40 s . the doughs were rested in bulk for 30 min in the proofer ( koma bv roermond , holland ) at 30 ° c . and 85 % rh , scaled into 400 g portions , moulded in a small scale moulder ( machinefabriek holtkamp bv , almelo , holland ), placed in tins ( 180 mm × 120 mm × 60 mm , sasa uk , middx , uk ) and proofed for 50 min at 30 ° c . and 85 % rh . baking was carried out at 230 ° c . for 30 min in a deck oven ( miwe , arnstein , germany ). the oven was presteamed ( 300 ml of water ) before loading and , on loading , was steamed by injecting 700 ml of water . the loaves were depanned and kept for 120 min on cooling racks at room temperature . loaves were heat sealed in moisture impermeable bags ( polystyrol - ethylene vinyl alcohol - polyethylene ) under modified atmosphere ( 60 % n 2 and 40 % co 2 ) and stored at 21 ° c . analyses were performed over a five - day storage period at three intervals : 2 h ( after cooling and before packing ), 50 h and 122 h , respectively . additionally , a non - acidified dough as well as a chemically acidified dough were prepared . the chemically acidified dough contained a mixture of lactic and acetic acids ( 4 : 1 v / v ) in order to yield a dough ph comparable to that of the doughs containing sourdough ( biologically acidified ). a series of bread analysis were performed ( in triplicate ) prior to packaging . loaf weight and volume ( rapeseed displacement method ) were determined . bake loss and loaf specific volume ( mug ) were calculated . crust and crumb colour were determined with a chroma - meter ( minolta cr - 300 , osaka , japan ). for crumb texture analysis , loaves were sliced transversely using a slice regulator and bread knife to obtain uniform slices of 25 mm thickness . two bread slices taken from the centre of each loaf were used . images of the bread were captured using a flatbed scanner ( hp scanjet4c , hewlett packard ) and supporting software ( desk scan ii , hewlett packard ). the brightness levels were adjusted to 150 units and contrast to 170 units using software controls ( crowley et al ., 2000 ). texture profile analysis ( tpa ) was performed using a universal testing machine ta - xt21 ( stable micro systems , surrey , uk ) equipped with a 25 - kg load cell and a 35 mm aluminium cylindrical probe . the settings used were a test speed of 2 . 0 mm / sec with a trigger force of 20 g to compress the middle of the breadcrumb to 60 % of its original height . water activity was determined with material taken from the centre of the crumb using the aqua lab cx - 2 ( decagon devices inc ., washington , usa ). all measurements obtained with the three loaves from one batch were averaged into one value , i . e . one replicate . tpa was repeated with three loaves at day 2 ( 50 hr after baking ) and day 5 ( 122 hr after baking ). sourdoughs were fermented for 24 or 48 h at 30 ° c . with the antifungal l . amylovorus fst 2 . 11 or l . plantarum fst 1 . 7 , as well as with the control strain l . sanfranciscensis lth 2581 . additionally , bread containing spontaneously fermented sourdough as well as a non - fermented bread and a chemically acidified bread were included . the antifungal activity of the lab in the context of bread was determined using bread slices challenged against a . niger , f . culmorum , p . expansum as well as p . roqueforti spores according to previously described methods ( dal bello et al ., 2007 ). briefly , the conidial solution ( dilution 1 : 10 ) was applied by nebulisation on both sides of each slice at a rate of approximately 1 ml ( ca . 10 4 spores ) per bread slice . each slice was then packed in a plastic bag and heat sealed , during which procedure a small slot was left open and a tip of a transfer pipette was inserted to ensure comparable aerobic conditions in each bag . bags were incubated at room temperature and examined for mould growth during a ten - day storage period . a series of ten slices was inoculated . mould growth was quantified as being the number of slice surfaces , i . e . both front and rear of slice , manifesting air mycelia . l . amylovorus fst 2 . 11 was investigated in form of sourdough for the potential to increase the shelf life of lean bread and japanese rolls . for both experiments , l . amylovorus sourdough fermented for 48 h at 30 ° c . was added at 40 % level ( 20 % flour replacement ), and the resulting bread / japanese roll was challenged against contaminants present in an industrial bakery , including penicillum aethiopicum and a . niger . briefly , bread / rolls were exposed to the bakery air for about 10 min , packaged , stored at room temperature and mould growth was observed daily . the shelf life of bread containing 20 % sourdough fermented by l . amylovorus was compared to that of standard bread ( not containing sourdough ) as well as bread containing 0 . 3 % calcium propionate ( maximum level allowed of chemical preservatives ; calcium propionate is used as a preservative in a variety of products ). bacteriological culturing of spontaneously fermented sourdoughs revealed lab cell counts of ca . 3 × 10 9 cfu / g sourdough . from the predominant lab , isolates were subcultured . analysis of the partial 16s rdna identified the following species among the predominant lab of gluten - free sourdoughs : l . amylovorus , lactobacillus brevis , lactobacillus johnsonii , l . plantarum , lactobacillus reuteri , l . sanfranciscensis , and weissella cibaria . the sourdough lab were tested in vitro for antimicrobial activity against a . fumigatus ( data not shown ). among the different strains tested , one strain , i . e . l . amylovorus fst 2 . 11 ( dsm 19280 ; see fig1 for 16s rdna homology results ), was found to be highly inhibitory against a . fumigatus and was therefore selected for further investigations . the inhibitory spectrum of l . amylovorus fst 2 . 11 against several bacteria as well as fungi was investigated using an agar diffusion assay ( dal bello et al ., 2007 ). results are summarised in table ii . the antifungal strain l . plantarum fst 1 . 7 ( dal bello et al ., 2007 ) was included in the screening together with the negative control l . sanfranciscensis lth 2581 . most of the bacteria tested were inhibited by all selected lab , however , only the strains l . amylovorus fst 2 . 11 and l . plantarum fst 1 . 7 inhibited the growth of common moulds in vitro . none of the tested lab was able to inhibit the growth of p . roqueforti in vitro . isolation of antifungal compounds produced by l . amylovorus fst 2 . 11 was performed using a spore germination bioassay . both the hydrophilic and the hydrophobic phases were found to contain compounds showing strong inhibitory activity against spores of a . fumigatus ( table iii ). compounds present in the hydrophilic and hydrophobic phases were separated using hplc ( see fig2 as example ). overall , 27 antifungal compounds were isolated using the bioassay ( see fig3 as example ), and 17 compounds were identified using nrms , ms and gc ( table iii ). lab growths during wheat sourdough fermentation are shown in fig4 . all the tested strains showed microbiological values ( cfu , ph , tta ) typical of wheat sourdough fermentations ( meroth et al ., 2003 ). for all the investigated sourdoughs , lab cell counts of about 2 - 3 × 10 9 cfu / g sourdough were recovered . identification of the isolates belonging to the predominant microbiota after 48 hrs of fermentation revealed that each of the strain persisted throughout the fermentation , thus indicating that the selected strains are suitable for wheat sourdough production . the suitability of l . amylovorus fst 2 . 11 as starter for sourdough fermentation , and thus sourdough bread production , was evaluated using a series of tests , i . e . specific volume , moisture content , co 2 produced / released , as well as hardness and rate of staling ( fig5 and 6 ). as controls , a chemically acidified dough as well as a non fermented dough were used . taking into consideration all investigated parameters , the bread containing sourdough fermented by l . amylovorus fst 2 . 11 did not significantly differ from bread containing sourdough fermented by either l . plantarum fst 1 . 7 or the traditional sourdough - starter l . sanfranciscensis , thus clearly showing the suitability of strain dsm 19280 as starter for wheat sourdough production . all wheat sourdough breads showed improvement quality when compared to wheat bread or wheat bread produced using a chemically acidified dough . addition of sourdough resulted in an increase in the specific volume of the bread ( fig5 a ), and thus of the bread volume and density , both being important parameters for consumer acceptability . finding higher moisture content ( fig5 b ) in the control breads compared to the sourdough breads can also be explained by the biological acidification . during fermentation the drop in ph leads to increased enzyme activity as well as protein denaturation , and thus to a softening of the protein network . this in turn results in a higher release of water which can evaporate off during the baking process . furthermore , proteolytic activity of the bacteria also leads to degradation of the protein network and thus to a higher loss of water during the baking process . the results concerning total , released and retained co 2 are presented in fig5 c , 5 d and 5 e , respectively . overall , the addition of sourdough resulted in higher co 2 production . this can be due to fermentation by heterofermentative lab and / or by endogenous yeasts . furthermore , the sugar and amino acids released by the bacteria can be easily used by the added yeasts , thus increasing the gas production . however , due to the biological acidification , most of the proteins have been degraded and the structure is weakened , as can be seen by the higher gas release of the sourdough samples when compared to the controls ( fig5 d ). this weakening of the structure is however masked by the increased amount of gas produced , as can be seen in fig5 e . analysis of the hardness and rate of staling revealed that addition of sourdough , independent from the inoculated strain , resulted in softer bread with a delayed rate of staling , when compared to the control breads ( fig6 a and 6b ). the initial softening of the bread is a result of the sourdough enzymatic activity , which is responsible for the starch and protein breakdown . however , as we progress to day 2 and day 5 the hardness of the bread is dominated by the starch portion of the bread . fig6 c depicts the gumminess of the breads , which is a key parameter ( mouth - feeling ) for the consumer . gumminess is perceived as a negative trait in bread . as shown , the addition of sourdough leads to a reduction in gumminess and so will improve consumer acceptability over the 5 days of storage . again , l . amylovorus sourdough bread was not significantly different from l . sanfranciscensis sourdough bread , thus indicating that the addition of sourdough fermented by strain fst 2 . 11 leads to the positive effects that are traditionally associated with the use of sourdough . in addition to the evaluation of its antimicrobial activity in vitro , l . amylovorus fst 2 . 11 was investigated in form of sourdough for the potential to increase the shelf life of wheat bread ( fig7 ). l . amylovorus sourdough fermented for 24 or 48 h was added at 20 % level , and the resulting bread was challenged with spores of a . niger , f . culmorum , p . expansum or p . roqueforti . results were compared to those obtained using sourdough fermented by the antifungal l . plantarum fst 1 . 7 , the non antifungal l . sanfranciscensis lth 2581 or by the endogenous wheat flour biota ( spontaneous fermentation ). twenty - four or 48 h fermented sourdough delayed the mould growth in a strain - and fungus - dependent manner ( fig7 ). overall , a retarded mould growth was observed when bread contained sourdough , but the addition of sourdough fermented by the antifungal strains resulted in a higher delay in mould growth . l . amylovorus fst 2 . 11 revealed to be by far the strongest antifungal strain , especially when 48 h fermented sourdough was used . compared to the other investigated breads , addition of l . amylovorus fermented sourdough retarded up to 2 days the growth of a . niger , up to 7 days the growth of f . culmorum , and up to one day the spoilage of p . expansum or p . roqueforti . the same ph and tta was measured in the two antifungal sourdoughs , i . e . sourdough fermented by l . amylovorus and sourdough fermented by l . plantarum . however , the increase in shelf life of wheat sourdough bread was significantly higher when fermentation was performed by l . amylovorus , thus indicating that strain fst 2 . 11 produces unique compounds which are responsible for this dramatic inhibition of mould growth . l . amylovorus fst 2 . 11 was also investigated in form of sourdough for the potential to increase the shelf life of lean bread and japanese rolls ( fig8 and 9 ). results obtained from the japanese rolls containing 20 % sourdough fermented by l . amylovorus were compared with those of japanese rolls containing 20 % traditional sourdough , 1 % vinegar , 0 . 5 % na - acetate , or no additives ( standard rolls ). the traditional sourdough was prepared with l . brevis ( fig9 ). for both bread and japanese rolls , a significant increase in the shelf life of products was obtained only when l . amylovorus sourdough was used . in particular , the presence of 20 % sourdough fermented by l . amylovorus resulted in products with a longer shelf life than those containing maximum levels of chemical additives . thus , l . amylovorus fst 2 . 11 revealed to be by far the strongest antifungal strain . the words “ comprises / comprising ” and the words “ having / including ” when used herein with reference to the present invention are used to specify the presence of stated features , integers , steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features , integers , steps , components or groups thereof . it is appreciated that certain features of the invention , which are , for clarity , described in the context of separate embodiments , may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment . conversely , various features of the invention , which are , for brevity , described in the context of a single embodiment , may also be provided separately or in any suitable sub - 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