B-Group vitamins production by probiotic lactic acid bacteria

Abstract

Vitamin production by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) has gained the attention of the scientific community. It has been shown that certain foods fermented with LAB contain high levels of B‐group vitamins as a result of microbial biosynthesis. Recently, it has also been reported that LAB and other beneficial microorganisms have the potential to produce vitamins in situ in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. This chapter reviews the newest studies describing B‐group vitamin‐producing LAB, and shows that increasing the B‐group vitamin concentrations in yogurts and fermented milks is possible through judicious selection of the microbial species and cultivation conditions. The B‐group (or B‐complex) vitamins include thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxin, pantothenic acid, biotin, folate, and cobalamin. The chapter discusses the most recent applications of beneficial microorganisms in order to increase the concentration of vitamins through microbial biosynthesis as an economically attractive alternative to mandatory fortification of foods.