Food Bio-Preservation: An Overview with Particular Attention to Lactobacillus plantarum

Food bio-preservation has gained considerable attention during the last decade. It is considered a promising alternative to classical means of food preservations and meets current consumer demands for the consumption of safe, nutritious, and chemicalfree products. The main techniques of food bio-preservation, include the application of bacteriocins, bacteriophages, endolysins, and protective cultures, which compose mainly of lactic acid bacteria. To date, the use of lactic acid bacteria (as protective cultures) or their metabolites in foods is known as the main acceptable tool of food bio-preservation. This review focus on the concept of food bio-preservation and its techniques, and the role of lactic acid bacteria and their antimicrobials in food bio-preservation. Among lactic acid bacteria, particular attention is given to Lactobacillus plantarum, a versatile species with important antimicrobial activity. This species is known to produce numerous bacteriocins and antifungal-active compounds. Also, Lactobacillus plantarum is extensively used in the production of many fermented foods either as a starter culture and probiotic microorganism.