Technological characterization of lactococci isolated from traditional Chinese fermented milks

To screen lactic acid bacteria for starter cultures in cheese production, 21 Lactococcus strains previously isolated from natural fermented milk and koumiss made by herdsman families in the Xinjiang, Gansu, and Qinghai provinces of China were evaluated for optimal growth temperature, acidification activity, proteolytic activity, aminopeptidase activity, and autolytic activity. All isolates presented low acidification rates, and the pH value did not reach 5.3 after 6 h of inoculation in sterile reconstituted skim milk at 30°C. Strains X9C2 and T7C showed the highest proteolytic activity of 24.67 and 23.58 mg of glycine/L of milk, respectively. For aminopeptidase activity, strains X9C2 and T1C2 displayed the highest activities of 30.56 and 27.70 U/mg of protein using L-leucine-p-nitroanilide as substrate, respectively. Autolytic activity in simulated cheese-like buffer ranged from 7.45 to 34.76%, and strains Q14C2 and Q16C showed the highest values of 34.76 and 34.20%, respectively. Collectively, one main finding is that some technological characteristics of Lactococcus isolates from Chinese traditional fermented products varied greatly. Some isolates with potentially important properties could be valuable for application as starter cultures of cheese or could constitute a mixed culture.