This study aimed to investigate in vitro the probiotic potential of three yeasts strains (BB06, OBT05, and MT07) isolated from agro-food natural sources. Screening was performed, including several functional, technological, and safety aspects of the yeast strains, in comparison to a reference Saccharomyces boulardii, to identify the ones with suitable probiotic attributes in aquaculture. The yeast strains were identified by 5.8S rDNA-ITS region sequencing as Metschnikowia pulcherrima OBT05, Saccharomyces cerevisiae BB06, and Torulaspora delbrueckii MT07. All yeast strains were tolerant to different temperatures, sodium chloride concentrations, and wide pH ranges. S. cerevisiae BB06 showed a strong and broad antagonistic activity. Moreover, the S. cerevisiae strain exhibited a high auto-aggregation ability (92.08 ± 1.49%) and good surface hydrophobicity to hexane as a solvent (53.43%). All of the yeast strains have excellent antioxidant properties (>55%). The high survival rate in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) can promote yeast isolates as probiotics. All yeast strains presented a resistance pattern to the antibacterial antibiotics. Non-hemolytic activity was detected. Furthermore, freeze-drying with cryoprotective agents maintained a high survival rate of yeast strains, in the range of 74.95–97.85%. According to the results obtained, the S. cerevisiae BB06 strain was found to have valuable probiotic traits.

Romania has a long history of grapevine culturing and winemaking. However, like any agricultural sector, viticulture faces devastating biological threats. Fungi responsible for grapevine trunk diseases (GTDs) and grape spoilage lead to considerable yield losses and a decline in grapevine quality. In the actual context, many countries, including Romania, have reoriented their approaches to minimize chemical inputs, which have been proven to be toxic and to have negative impacts on the environment, and to replace them with sustainable biocontrol strategies for the wine-growing sector. Within biocontrol strategies, Bacillus spp. is a well-known plant-protective bacteria with antifungal properties. Within this paper, six endophytic bacteria from various plant sources were studied. The bacterial strains were identified as B. pumilus, B. subtilis, and B. velezensis by sequencing their 16S rDNA region. Regardless of the in vitro test methods (using living bacterial cells, bacterial-cell-free supernatant (CFS), and volatile active compounds (VOCs)), B. velezensis strains revealed strong and broad antifungal activity against grape and grapevine fungal pathogens such as Aspergillus spp., Botrytis cinerea, Penicillium expansum, Diplodia seriata, Eutypa lata, Fusarium spp., Clonostachys rosea, Neofusicoccum parvum, and Stereum hirsutum. The functional antifungal genes encoding for difficidin, fengycin, iturins, macrolactin, and mycosubtilin were molecularly detected, which could support the proven antifungal activity of the endophytic strains. Lytic enzymes involved in fungal growth inhibition, such as chitinase, cellulase, and proteases, were also revealed to be produced by some of these bacterial strains. Various other in vitro tests, such as phosphate and phytate solubilization, phytohormone synthesis, the production of enzymes involved in the polyamine biosynthetic pathway, and pH as well as temperature tolerance tests were carried out to reveal the plant-beneficial potential of these bacterial strains. These results revealed that the B. velezensis strains, especially BAHs1, are the most suitable endophytes for grapevine biologic control, which could lead to the future development of sustainable management strategies.

This study aimed to evaluate the probiotic properties of 10 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from artisanal fermented plantain dockounou paste. A preliminary characterization of the LAB isolates was performed based on phenotypic and several biochemical properties, which was subsequently confirmed through 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis, indicating that these isolates belonged to the species Lactiplantibacillus plantarum. With regard to safety criteria, the strains exhibited no alpha or beta hemolysis activity. Nevertheless, the majority of LAB strains demonstrated high sensitivity to the antibiotics tested. The results demonstrated that the majority of the strains exhibited remarkably high survival rates under simulated gastrointestinal conditions, such as pH = 1.5 (81.18–98.15%), 0.3% bile salts (68.62–100.89%), 0.4% phenol (40.59–128.24%), as well as 0.1% pepsin and pH = 2.5 (88.54–99.78%). The LAB strains demonstrated elevated levels of cell surface properties, indicative of the presence of a considerable defensive mechanism against pathogens. Intact LAB cells exhibited significant antioxidant abilities (48.18–83.58%). They also demonstrated a pronounced inhibitory effect on the growth of foodborne pathogens. Enzyme pattern analysis revealed that the LAB isolates produced both proteases and cellulases, as well as pectinase and/or amylase activity. The potential of the L. plantarum strains FS43, FS44, and FS48, as indicated by the results obtained from the standard in vitro assays, makes them suitable for further study as potential probiotics.

In this study, the potential value of dried grape pomace (whole, seed, and skin) obtained from Fetească Neagră (FN) and Tămâioasă Românească (TR) as a source of secondary metabolites was evaluated following hydroethanolic extraction. The total polyphenol, flavonoid, and anthocyanin contents of FN and TR extracts have been determined, along with their antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. The investigation of seeds and the whole pomace FN extracts revealed higher levels of polyphenol, flavonoid, and anthocyanin content in comparison to those extracted from TR. Fifteen polyphenolic compounds were identified through ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) analysis. The most abundant concentrations of catechin and epicatechin were detected in seed and whole pomace extracts derived from both Romanian grape varieties. The antioxidant activity was higher in the whole pomace and skin extracts derived from FN than those derived from TR. The antimicrobial evaluation demonstrated that 15 out of 18 reference pathogenic bacteria exhibited low MIC and MBC values, indicating a strong antibacterial activity of FN and TR extracts. No anti-Candida activity was observed. It can be reasonably deduced that the Fetească Neagră and Tămâioasă Românească by-products represent a sustainable resource for the development of new functional ingredients for the pharmaceutical and food industries, in alignment with the principles of the circular bioeconomy.

In recent years, research on yeasts as probiotics has gained more and more interest, which will allow the development of “new” products in the probiotics market. In this context, seventeen yeast strains isolated from Rabilé, a traditional beer produced in Burkina Faso, were assessed for their probiotic attributes. The yeast identification was performed by molecular methods, including PCR-RFLP and 5.8S-ITS region sequencing. Saccharomyces cerevisiae (14 strains) was the predominantly identified species, followed by Pichia kudriavzevii (2 strains) and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa (1 strain). Except for R. mucilaginosa, all yeast strains grew well at human temperature. The yeast strains showed high resistance when they were exposed to simulated gastrointestinal conditions. Auto-aggregation ability was between 70.20 ± 10.53% and 91.82 ± 1.96%, while co-aggregation with E. coli ranged from 24.92 ± 3.96% to 80.68 ± 9.53% and with S. enterica serovar Typhimurium from 40.89 ± 8.18% to 74.06 ± 7.94%. Furthermore, the hydrophobicity of isolated strains toward n-hexane was in the range from 43.17 ± 5.07% to 70.73 ± 2.42%. All yeast strains displayed high antioxidant capabilities, and the strains did not show hemolysis halos, such that they can be considered safe. Additionally, S. cerevisiae strains strongly inhibited the growth of foodborne pathogens. This is the first preliminary study to identify and characterize the yeast strains isolated from Rabilé with interesting probiotic properties.

Winemaking in Romania has a long-lasting history and traditions and its viticulture dates back centuries. The present work is focused on the development of wine yeast isolation and selection performed in different Romanian winemaking regions during past decades, presenting the advanement of the methods and techniques employed, correlated with the impact on wine quality improvement. Apart from the historical side of such work, the findings will reveal how scientific advancement in the country was correlated with worldwide research in the topic and influenced local wines’ typicity. To create an overall picture of the local specificities, the work refers to local grape varieties and the characteristics of the obtained wines by the use of local yeasts as compared to commercial ones. Numerous autochthonous strains of Saccharomyces were isolated from Romanian vineyards, of which several demonstrated strong oenological characteristics. Meanwhile, different non-Saccharomyces yeast strains were also isolated and are nowadays receiving the attention of researchers seeking to develop new wines according to wine market tendencies and to support wine’s national identity.