The present invention provides compositions incorporating lactic acid bacteria or bifidobacteria with components that act to enhance the function of lactic acid bacteria or bifidobacteria. The present invention relates to a composition containing at least one component selected from the group consisting of lutein, fish oil, lactoferrin, vitamins, γ-aminobutyric acid, and zinc, and a strain of lactic acid bacteria or bifidobacteria.

The Lactobacillus curvatus strain deposited as DSM18775 is used as a biopreservative culture in a wide range of meat products due to its production of bacteriocin. The present invention relates to Lactobacillus curvatus strains having an extended lag phase of at least 24 hours at 30° C. relative to DSM18775. In a presently preferred embodiment, the strains are mutants of DSM18775, such as the Lactobacillus curvatus strain deposited as DSM32590 and the Lactobacillus curvatus strain deposited as DSM 32591. Further, the invention relates to a method for inhibiting Listeria in a food product comprising adding bacteria of a Lactobacillus curvatus strain according to the invention to a food product in a concentration of at least 10.sup.5 CFU/g.

A medicine, a food or a drink and feed which are effective for preventing and/or improving decline, occurring with age (senescence), in memory and learning ability are provided. A novel microorganism having the effect of preventing and/or improving decline, occurring with age (senescence,) in memory and learning ability is provided. More specifically, the microorganism is characterized by being a microorganism belonging to Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Streptococcus, Leuconostoc or Pediococcus, more specifically a microorganism belonging to any of Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus gasseri, Lactobacillus gallinarum, Lactobacillus johnsonii, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. delbrueckii, Bifidobacterium catenulatum, Bifidobacterium pseudolongum, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium breve, Bifidobacterium longum, Streptococcus thermophiles, Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. dextranicum, Leuconostoc lactis, Pediococcus acidilactici and Pediococcus pentosaceus.

The multiple embodiments described herein comprise the genome of a probiotic Bifidobacterium longum bifidobacteria strain and genes encoded by the genome. Various novel Bifidobacterium longum are described.

A food composition for alleviating hangovers, the food composition contains, as an active ingredient, at least one strain selected from the group consisting of Lactococcus chungangensis, Lactococcus fujiensis, Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, and Lactococcus raffinolactis, or a culture liquid thereof culture medium, wherein functional cream cheese is prepared using five species of Lactococcus strains above having the ability to decompose ethanol and acetaldehyde.

An isolated Lactobacillus mucosae (DPC6426) strain deposited with the National Collection of Industrial and Marine Bacteria Limited (NCIMB) on 27 Jul. 2012 under NCIMB Deposit Accession No. 42015.

A Method for Producing Milk and Dairy Supplements with a Unique Fatty Acid Composition, by Restoring the Commensal Natural Microbiota allows to obtain unique composition of fatty acids by its identification and separation from cow's, sheep's or goat's milk of specific geographic region and it also allows to obtain the natural, commensal microbiota, which would cease to exist due to pasteurization in the normal process of milk production and treatment, wherein the natural microflora is added to the drinking milk or stored in an instant form for addition to the milk or for the preparation of a dairy beverage containing the natural microflora typical for the region of milk's origin, while for region of Eastern and Central Slovakia there are identified and separated these beneficial microbes Enterococcus faecalis SP, Enterococcus faecalis Ccj, Enterococcus hirae Klk, Lactobacillus plantarum SP, Lactobacillus plantarum AN, Lactobacillus paracasei TD, Lactobacillus catenaformis SB and Kluyveromyces marxianus SB and most suitable ratio of fatty acids is ω-3 α-Linolenic acid (C18:3n3) 0.81%, ω-6 linoleic acid (C18:2n6c) 2.15%, arachidic acid (20:0) 0.22% and behenic acid (22:0) 0.11%.

The present invention provides a composition for promoting defecation, which includes: a fermentation powder of lactic acid bacteria and a physiologically acceptable excipient, diluent, or carrier. The fermentation powder includes: a fermentation product of lactic acid bacteria, the fermentation product is obtained by incubating lactic acid bacterial strains in a culture medium containing milk, milk powders, casein, soy beans, bean products, or whey, and the lactic acid bacterial strains include: a Lactobacillus salivarius subsp. salicinius AP-32 strain, a Lactobacillus plantarum LPL28 strain, a Lactobacillus acidophilus TYCA06 strain, and a Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis BLI-02 strain.

The present invention relates to a composition comprising a given Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain and a given Lactobacillus paracasei strain wherein the ratio of the given Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain to the given Lactobacillus paracasei strain (LRα:LPα) is higher or equal to 8:1 and to methods thereof.

The present invention provides a method for producing a fermented food, comprising: a fermentation step of fermenting a raw material milk-containing milk preparation solution added with Lactobacillus delbrueckii and Streptococcus thermophilus carrying a prtS gene.