Research review paper Bacteriocin production by Bifidobacterium spp. A review Fabio Andres Castillo Martinez a , Eduardo Marcos Balciunas a , Attilio Converti b , Paul D. Cotter c , Ricardo Pinheiro de Souza Oliveira a, ⁎ a Biochemical and Pharmaceutical Technology Department, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, Av. Lineu Prestes 580, São Paulo 05508-900, Brazil b Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Pole of Chemical Engineering, Genoa University, I-16145 Genoa, Italy c Teagasc Food Research Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy and Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, Cork, Ireland abstract article info Article history: Received 4 December 2012 Received in revised form 24 January 2013 Accepted 24 January 2013 Available online 4 February 2013 Keywords: Bacteriocins Bifidobacterium spp. Antimicrobial compounds Lactic acid bacteria Bacteriocins are ribosomally-synthesized antibacterial peptides. These compounds are produced by a broad variety of different bacteria belonging mainly to the genus Bifidobacterium, to which health promoting prop- erties have frequently been attributed. However, despite the fact that the identification of Bifidobacterium- associated bacteriocins was first reported in 1980 and that they exhibit antimicrobial activity against patho- genic microorganisms such as Listeria monocytogenes, Clostridium perfringens, and Escherichia coli, relatively little information is still available about the antimicrobial compounds produced by strains of this genus. More detailed understanding of the action mechanisms of these antimicrobials could allow us to determine the extent to which their production contributes to the probiotic properties of specific bifidobacteria strains and, potentially, be of crucial significance for ultimate preservation of functional foods or pharmaceutical applications. Here we review what is already known about their structure, classification, mode of action, functionality, immunity, production and purification. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482 2. Antimicrobial compounds from Bifidobacterium spp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483 2.1. Antimicrobial compounds: production time and phases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484 2.2. Antimicrobial compounds: enzymes, pH and heat stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484 3. Classification of bacteriocins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485 4. Influence of culture medium and bifidogenic factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485 5. Purification and separation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486 6. Conclusions and future prospects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487 Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487 1. Introduction Bifidobacteria are high GC, Gram-positive, non-spore-forming, non-motile and catalase-negative anaerobic bacteria belonging to the phylum of Actinobacteria (Ishibashi et al., 1997). They are able to fer- ment glucose to lactic and acetic acids via a metabolic pathway that is characterized by the presence of the enzyme fructose-6-phosphate phosphoketolase (F6PPK) (Ballongue, 2004; Gomes and Malcata, 1999). These microorganisms were first isolated by Tissier (1900), described as pleomorphic rods with different shapes, including curved, short and bifurcated Y shapes, and initially classified as Bacillus bifidus communis. Subsequently, they were renamed Lactobacillus bifidus before De Vries and Stouthamer (1967) suggested that they should be reclassified as a distinct genus (Bifidobacterium) because of the presence of F6PPK and the simultaneous absence of glucose-6-phosphatase dehydrogenase and aldolase, i.e. two enzymes present in lactobacilli (Ballongue, 2004; Cheikhyoussef et al., 2008; Ishibashi et al., 1997). Bifidobacteria are an important group of human gut commensal bacteria, accounting for around 3–7% of the microbiota in adults and, according to some reports, up to 91% in newborns (Ballongue, 2004; Cheikhyoussef et al., 2009a). Some strains of Bifidobacterium Biotechnology Advances 31 (2013) 482–488 ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +55 11 3091 0123; fax: +55 11 3815 6386. E-mail address: rpsolive@usp.br (R.P. de Souza Oliveira). 0734-9750/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biotechadv.2013.01.010 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Biotechnology Advances journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/biotechadv