Lactobacillus helveticus explained

Lactobacillus helveticus is a lactic-acid producing, rod-shaped bacterium of the genus Lactobacillus. It is most commonly used in the production of American Swiss cheese and Emmental cheese, but is also sometimes used in making other styles of cheese, such as Cheddar, Parmesan, Romano, provolone, and mozzarella. The primary function of L. helveticus culture is to prevent bitterness and produce nutty flavors in the final cheese. In Emmental cheese production, L. helveticus is used in conjunction with a Propionibacterium culture, which is responsible for developing the holes (known as "eyes") through production of carbon dioxide gas.

Ingestion of powdered milk fermented with L. helveticus was shown to decrease blood pressure due to the presence of manufactured tripeptides that have ACE inhibitor activity.^[1] However, results have been contradictory in later studies.^{[2] [3] [4]}

The bacterium's specific name is an adjective derived from "Helvetia", the Latin name for the region occupied by the ancient Helvetii (and for modern Switzerland). The bacterium is also used as probiotic.^[5]

See also

• Lactic acid bacteria

External links

• Lactobacillus helveticus
• Type strain of Lactobacillus helveticus at BacDive - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase

Notes and References

1. Aihara . K . Kajimoto . O . Hirata . H . Takahashi . R . Nakamura . Y. . vanc . Aug 2005 . Effect of powdered fermented milk with Lactobacillus helveticus on subjects with high-normal blood pressure or mild hypertension . J Am Coll Nutr . 24 . 4 . 257–65 . 16093403 . 10.1080/07315724.2005.10719473 . 18513821 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080413120913/http://www.jacn.org/cgi/content/full/24/4/257 . 2008-04-13.
2. Van . K. der Zander . K . Bots . M . Bak . A . Koning . M . de Leeuw . P . 2008. Enzymatically hydrolyzed lactotripeptides do not lower blood pressure in mildly hypertensive subjects . American Journal of Clinical Nutrition . 19064533 . 88 . 6. 1697–1702 . 10.3945/ajcn.2008.26003 . free .
3. 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.107.098988 . Engberink . M . Schouten . E . Kok . F . van Mierlo . L . Brouwer . I . Geleijnse . J . 2008 . Lactotripeptides Show No Effect on Human Blood Pressure . Hypertension . 51 . 2. 399–405 . 18086944 . 10.1.1.586.647 . 25961096 .
4. Boelsma . 19061526 . 2009 . E . Kloek . J . Lactotripeptides and antihypertensive effects: a critical review . The British Journal of Nutrition . 101 . 6 . 776–86 . vanc . 10.1017/S0007114508137722. free .
5. Taverniti. Valentina. Guglielmetti. Simone. 2012-11-19. Health-Promoting Properties of Lactobacillus helveticus. Frontiers in Microbiology. 3. 392. 10.3389/fmicb.2012.00392. 1664-302X. 3500876. 23181058. free .