Probiotic Bacteria from Neera: Extending Fresh Produce Shelf Life
Packaging and processing techniques in the food sector can adversely impact both consumer health and the environment. Consequently, there’s a growing demand for minimally processed foods that retain their nutritional and sensory qualities while ensuring extended shelf life. Edible coatings have emerged as a promising solution, offering improved quality, safety, and functionality for perishable items like fruits and vegetables. These coatings regulate water diffusion, gas permeability, and oxidation, and can be applied through dipping, spraying, or coating methods. A recent study focused on isolating probiotic bacteria from Neera samples collected near Choutuppal in Nalgonda, Telangana. Ten bacterial strains were cultivated from these samples on MRS agar and subsequently sub-cultured to obtain pure cultures. Morphological analysis confirmed the purity of each culture. The isolates were then assessed for antimicrobial activity against spoilage-causing microorganisms in fruits and vegetables. Biochemical tests, including catalase, methyl red, oxidase, starch hydrolysis, citrate utilization, and Voges-Proskauer tests, were conducted to characterize the isolates. Among the ten strains, isolate 3 demonstrated the most promising characteristics, including strong antibacterial activity. Molecular identification using universal 16S rRNA primers identified this isolate as Levilactobacillus brevis. Phylogenetic analysis using Mega-4 bioinformatics software further confirmed its identity. This strain exhibited excellent performance in bile salt tolerance tests and demonstrated other probiotic activities, highlighting its potential as a functional food ingredient. The findings underscore the significance of probiotics in enhancing food quality and safety, offering a natural solution to meet consumer preferences for healthier and longer-lasting food options.
Fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet due to their low-calorie content (Charlton et al., 2014) and several health benefits (Berger et al., 2010). Consuming a diet rich in fruits and vegetables has been shown to lower the risk of several diseases, including cardiovascular disease, colon cancer, obesity, and diabetes (More et al., 2020). They have become increasingly popular in recent years, and their richness of nutrients makes them necessary for everyday use (Leneveu-Jenvrin et al., 2020). Producing minimally processed fruits and vegetables has helped meet the rising demand for fresh produce (both whole and cut) in many developed countries over the past decade. This is because these foods are both nutritious and easy to prepare. Fruits and vegetables that can be stored for longer without losing their quality are one way in which minimal processing techniques are replacing more conventional ones (De Corato et al., 2020; Hasan et al., 2020). Food quality declines during preservation, a major issue for food manufacturers and a significant contributor to food waste. Recently, novel and effective food handling methods have been invented to lead to the extension of food safeguarding, shelf-life extension, and, thus, food waste decrease (Stan et al., 2019; Stan, 2020; Verma et al., 2021; Chitrakar et al., 2021; Nezami, 2020). But not all of these cutting-edge technologies are viable commercial solutions because they influence customer behavior (Rabadán et al., 2021; Stefanoiu et al., 2018). Edible packaging, coatings, and films are novel solutions to this issue because they protect perishable goods, delaying spoilage from microorganisms and preventing loss of moisture and gas (Dehghani et al., 2018).
Research into edible packaging systems is increasing annually as more people seek less conventional and more nutritious foods. Senses of smell, taste, and sight can be preserved using edible films and coatings as the principal packaging material for goods with edible ingredients. The ripening of produce coated with edible films is slowed, and its shelf life is extended (Hassan et al., 2018; Ulusoy et al., 2018). Wax was applied to oranges in China in the 12th and 13th centuries to create an edible coating. Edible coatings produced from boiling soybeans were developed in Japan in the 15th century (Tural et al., 2017) and were used to enhance the visual appeal of various foods. The edible packaging industry has proliferated in the past few years, with a projected valuation of $1097 million by 2023 (Mamtani et al., 2021). Edible packaging has two separate applications in the food sector. Edible coatings can be sprayed directly onto the food item or onto a prefabricated film that is then coiled around the food item (Suhag et al., 2020).
The food sector needs help with customer acceptability regarding novel manufacturing methods, such as edible coatings and films (Vital et al., 2018), even though these can assist in extending the shelf life of numerous food items. Consumer acceptability is vital to the production of effective food products. Hence insight into how consumers create and interpret opinions about novel technology and goods is essential for food chain invention (Stan et al., 2019; Siegrist et al., 2021). Several studies have been conducted to determine whether or not consumers will embrace novel processing technologies and techniques, such as nanotechnology (Peters et al., 2016), radio frequency (Stefanoiu et al., 2018), food irradiation (MacRitchie et al., 2014), and edible coatings and films (Wan et al., 2007). This investigation examines the current state of knowledge regarding the use of edible formulations on a variety of less processed fruits and vegetables, with a particular emphasis on the scientific aspects of this practice, involving coating ingredients and composition, implementation techniques, and the impact on food shelf life and quality, which involves nutritional quality.
Probiotics are live bacteria that help humans stay healthy. Maintaining viability and metabolic activity is essential from when food is harvested until the consumer consumes it. Although protecting against these microbes is crucial, the question of when and where to release them still needs to be answered. There is no issue with release when employing edible films or food coatings because they are both ingested with the food. However, these coatings help extend the storage life of perishable commodities like fresh produce. Beneficial microbes, or probiotics, aid humans when consumed in adequate amounts. Protecting against harmful germs, boosting mucus formation, and improving gastrointestinal mucosa proliferation are all functions these microorganisms perform well. Additionally, they contain immunogenic qualities that lessen the side consequences of diarrhea, avoid intestinal inflammation, lower blood cholesterol levels, prevent allergies, and regulate genital and urinary tract diseases (E Silva et al., 2014). One of the most efficient ways to obtain probiotics is by incorporating them into your food, including cornflakes (Dadgar et al., 2014), pomegranate juice (Khanbagi Dogahe et al., 2015), dough (Javanmard et al., 2013), cheese (Tavakoli et al., 2016), yogurt (Massoud et al., 2015; Beheshtipour H et al., 2012), processed milk (Beheshtipour et al., 2013), and grape drink (Malganji et al., 2016). Helpful substances and bioactive substances are produced by probiotic varieties during their residency, including peptides with opiate and antithrombotic effects, attached linolenic acid, and propionic acid (Massoud et al., 2015; Gholami et al., 2014; Farhadi et al., 2013).
Using these beneficial microbes has been reported to decrease oxidative stresses and inflammatory mediators (Mohammadi et al., 2015; Mohammadi et al., 2015), as well as remove poisons and heavy metals (Massoud et al., 2020; Siahmoshteh et al., 2016). As stated by Hosseini et al. (2013) and Soheili et al. (2011), prebiotics are used to promote the development of probiotics. More research into the human gut microbiome can lead to identifying hitherto unrecognized prebiotics and probiotics (Gómez et al., 2016). Probiotics' survival and metabolic activity must be preserved through food manufacturing, after ingestion, and within the gastrointestinal system (Nguyen et al., 2016). For example, lactic acid bacteria have been shown to increase the nutritional value of foods by contending with pathogens for nutrients (such as vitamins, minerals, trace elements, and peptides) and by creating organic acids and bacteriophages (antimicrobial peptides) to combat spoilage during storage. Thus, using probiotics might lengthen the period that vegetables and fruits can be stored, avoiding being linked to their antagonistic effects (Alegre et al., 2011). Protecting fruits and vegetables with edible coverings has become a common practice recently. By limiting postharvest moisture loss, gas exchange, respiration, and oxidative processes, edible coating with semipermeable films might extend the storage life of fruit (Khodaei et al., 2019; Petriccione et al., 2015). Films and coatings for edibles can be fabricated from a wide range of biocompatible materials, including lipids, polysaccharides, proteins, and their respective combinations (Pereira et al., 2016). The food packaging business and the network of edible polymer films can both benefit from the incorporation of probiotics. An alternate strategy for managing dangerous microbes and bolstering food safety is provided by incorporating probiotics and other active chemicals into the structure of biopolymers. Research on both probiotics and food packaging has increased over the past two decades (Espitia et al., 2016), yet there has been relatively little research on the use of probiotics in food packaging. It was first suggested in 2007 (Tapia et al., 2007) that probiotics may be used in consumable films. Therefore, there is continuing investment in the study and production of probiotics films and coatings for proactive packaging. These coatings and films could serve as viable replacements for transporting probiotics. Active or bioactive packing, like probiotic material for packaging, can improve food stability and even positively affect the health of the customer. This research aimed to determine which strains of lactic acid bacteria could be isolated from Neera to improve food safety and shelf life without sacrificing nutritional value.
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