La microbiota del queso y su importancia funcional.

Resum

Currently, functional foods with probiotics are very popular and there is an increasing interest in society to include them in diet. Until now, scientific research was focused on testing the beneficial effects of certain bacterial strains, regardless of origin, in humans. However, studies that describe the functional importance of species that are naturally present in food are not as abundant. Therefore, this work aims to analyse the microbiota of one of the most prominent microbial food ecosystems, that is cheese; and relate it to its functional properties. After analysing the microbial composition of different cheeses, such as Cheddar, Emmental, Gruyere, Camembert etc., it has been observed that many predominant species (for example, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium infantis or Streptococcus thermophilus) are related to the treatment of health problems. Among others, they are effective in relieving lactose intolerance, preventing allergies, lowering cholesterol, inhibiting intestinal pathogens, treating inflammatory diseases or reducing the risk associated to mutagenicity and carcinogenicity. In addition, it has been proven that most strains maintain viability during cheese making and after the digestive process. In short, we would be faced with a functional food that is very beneficial for health.