Efeitos benéficos de micro-organismos envolvidos na produção de leite fermentado

Abstract

Probiotics are defined as live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host. Such microorganisms are used in the preparation of fermented products and, some of them, as pharmaceutical products. One of these products is fermented milk, which uses lactic acid bacteria during its elaboration. These bacteria are mostly facultative anaerobic, mesophilic, and duringits fermentation process there is the production of lactic acid, as a main product, and the production of small quantities of other sub-products. Lactobacillus and Streptococcus are among lactic acids main bacteria. The ingestion of fermented milk has many benefits to the consumer. In this work a study about current scientific knowledge related to the benefits attributed to probiotics, specially fermented milk, was made. The probiotics action mechanisms and the production process of yogurt,considered the most economically important fermented milk, were revised. However, new researches are still on going and new knowledge about the use of these probiotics is still to be discovered. Despite the lack of clinical assays using fermented foods, the use of fermented milk products brings benefits forwho ingests it regularly.