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AssigneeChr. Hansen A/S
InventorsSolvej SIEDLER, Martin Holm RAU, Stina Dissing Aunsbjerg NIELSEN
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The present invention provides a method of controlling growth of unwanted microorganisms by limiting their access to manganese. More specifically, the present invention provides a method of inhibiting or delaying growth of yeast and mold by reducing the manganese concentration in a product which is preferably a food product. The invention also provides manganese scavengers and uses thereof to inhibit or delay fungal growth. The manganese scavenger may be a bacterial cell, specifically a lactic acid bacterial cell, more specifically Lactobacillus rhamnosus alone or in combination with Lactobacillus paracasei.
A method of inhibiting or delaying growth of fungi in a product, comprising the step of reducing free manganese in the product to a concentration of below about 0.01 ppm in the product, wherein the step of reducing free manganese in the product comprises adding one or more manganese scavenging agents, wherein the manganese scavenging agent is one or more bacteria strains and/or a chemical chelating material.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the fungi is yeast or mold.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the fungi is a yeast selected from the group consisting of Torulaspora spp., Cryptococcus spp., Saccharomyces spp., Yarrowia spp., Debaryomyces spp., Candida spp. and Rhodoturola spp. or wherein the fungi is a mold selected from the group consisting of Aspergillus spp., Cladosporium spp., Didymella spp. or Penicillium spp.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the product is a food product.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the product is a fermented product.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the product is a thermophilic or mesophilic fermented food product.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the free manganese in the product is reduced to a concentration of below about 0.005 ppm.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the step of reducing free manganese in the product comprises using ion-exchange chromatography.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the chemical chelating material is selected from the group consisting of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, ethylene glycol-bis(β-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid, diaminocyclohexanetetraacetic acid, nitrilotriacetic acid, 1,2-bis(o-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid or diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, preferably the chemical chelating material is ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising the step of selecting one or more bacteria strains as the manganese scavenging agent.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the selecting step comprises determining whether the one or more bacteria strain comprises a manganese transporter having at least 55%, such as at least 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or 100% sequence identity with the sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO:
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the selecting step comprises determining that the one or more bacteria strain is free of a superoxide dismutase, preferably free of a manganese superoxide dismutase.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the selecting step comprises measuring a manganese uptake activity of the one or more bacteria strain.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the step of reducing free manganese comprises adding as a manganese scavenging agent one or more lactic acid bacteria, optionally selected from the group consisting of Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus fermenturn, Lactobacillus reuteri, Lactobacillus sakei, Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacillus salivarius, Lactobacillus alimentarius, Pediococcus acidilactici, Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus kefiri.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.