The present disclosure is directed to a method for reducing immunoreactivity of a food including (a) incubating a food that contains at least one protein with a cross-linking enzyme to form a food that includes at least one cross-linked protein; and (b) fermenting the food including the at least one cross-linked protein with a microorganism to form a modified food including a hydrolysate of the at least one cross-linked protein, wherein (a) is performed before (b) and wherein a level of immunoreactivity of the modified food is less than a level of immunoreactivity of an unmodified food including at least one protein. Modified foods obtained from the present method are also provided.

Novel strains of Lactobacillus plantarum GCWB1001 deposited as accession number KCCM12698P, Pediococcus acidilactici GCWB1085 deposited as accession number KCCM12699P, or Lactobacillus rhamnosus GCWB1156 deposited as accession number KCCM12700P are disclosed. The novel strains have the excellent effect of treating or alleviating respiratory diseases. Additionally, provided are a pharmaceutical composition, a health functional food composition, and probiotics, all of which have the effect of treating or alleviating inflammatory diseases or respiratory diseases, containing any one of the novel strains.

Novel strains of Lactobacillus plantarum GCWB1001 deposited as accession number KCCM12698P, Pediococcus acidilactici GCWB1085 deposited as accession number KCCM12699P, or Lactobacillus rhamnosus GCWB1156 deposited as accession number KCCM12700P are disclosed. The novel strains have the excellent effect of treating or alleviating respiratory diseases. Additionally, provided are a pharmaceutical composition, a health functional food composition, and probiotics, all of which have the effect of treating or alleviating inflammatory diseases or respiratory diseases, containing any one of the novel strains.

A feedlot administered animal feed additive that promotes animal health and growth, reduces mortality and can act as an antibiotic substitute. The additive inhibits pathogen growth resulting in lower pathogen load within the animal and reduced pathogen sheading to the environment. The additive includes bacteria that inhibit E. coli O157:H7 growth by as much as 93% and Salmonella growth by as much as 97%, together with commensurate inhibition rates against the Big-Six Escherichia coli strains. The additive includes various combinations of the following pathogen-inhibiting bacteria: Lactobacillus animalis; Enterococcus faecium; and Pediococcus acidilactici.

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 invention relates to preparation of fermented food products, including dairy or dairy analogue products, with Pichia kluyveri and lactic acid bacteria in the presence of carbohydrate(s) which is sucrose, fructose, glucose or mixtures thereof. Fermentation of such products can be made using a starter culture composition comprising Pichia kluyveri strain(s) and lactic acid bacteria strain(s). The composition optionally comprises carbohydrate(s) which is sucrose, fructose and/or glucose.

Animal feeds comprising probiotics are preserved using an enzymatic antioxidant. Polypeptides having catalase activity and/or superoxide dismutase activity preserve and promote probiotic growth and activity in animal.

The disclosure discloses P. acidilactici CCFM6432 for alleviating depression, food fermented thereby and application thereof. The P. acidilactici CCFM6432 of the disclosure can be used to prepare food, health-care products and drugs with the functions of resisting depression, resisting inflammation, resisting inflammatory bowel disease, resisting obesity and resisting type I diabetes. The disclosure further provides fermented food. The fermented food is produced by fermentation using the P. acidilactici CCFM6432, and the fermented food includes solid food, liquid food, and semi-solid food. The P. acidilactici CCFM6432 has very broad application prospects.

The present invention provides compositions comprising a probiotic in admixture with an effective amount of an amphipathic substance that enhances viability of the probiotic in the composition when the composition is subjected to heat.