Milk serves as a crucial source of natural bioactive compounds essential for human nutrition and health. The increased production of high-protein dairy products is a source of whey—a valuable secondary product that, along with other biologically valuable substances, contains significant amounts of whey proteins and is often irrationally used or not utilized at all. Acid whey, containing almost all whey proteins and approximately one-quarter of casein, presents a valuable raw material for generating peptides with potential health benefits. These peptides exhibit properties such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, antihypertensive, antithrombotic, opioid, mineral-binding, and growth-stimulating activities, contributing to improved human immunity and the treatment of chronic diseases. Bioactive peptides can be produced by enzymatic hydrolysis using a variety of proteolytic enzymes, plant extracts, and microbial fermentation. With the participation of plant enzymes, peptides that inhibit angiotensin-converting enzyme are most often obtained. The use of enzymatic hydrolysis and microbial fermentation by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) produces more diverse peptides from different whey proteins with α-lactalbumin and β-lactoglobulin as the main targets. The resulting peptides of varying lengths often have antimicrobial, antioxidant, antihypertensive, and antidiabetic characteristics. Peptides produced by LAB are promising for use in medicine and the food industry as antioxidants and biopreservatives. Other beneficial properties of LAB-produced, whey-derived peptides have not yet been fully explored and remain to be studied. The development of whey drinks rich in bioactive peptides and based on the LAB proteolytic activity is underway. The strain specificity of LAB proteases opens up broad prospects for combining microorganisms to obtain products with the widest range of beneficial properties.

Industrial aquaculture is a dynamic area capable of solving problems of healthy nutrition and food security. Increase of organic pollution, number of opportunistic microorganisms in the aquatic environment of fish farms and the global contamination of feed by mycotoxigenic fungi are serious problems of industrial fish cultivation. The results are weakening of the general condition of fish, immunosuppression, the occurrence of various diseases complicated by drug resistance, the accumulation of antibiotics and chemical compounds in tissues. Probiotics can be an alternative to antibiotics. The use of probiotics is also one of the biological methods for maintaining and restoring the normal physiological state of fish and increasing their productivity. The aim of this review is the scientific justification of the use of lactic acid bacteria as the safest microorganisms in the development of probiotics for aquaculture. The review presented provides criteria for selecting candidate strains for effective probiotics development. The advantages of lactic acid bacteria for the prevention or control of infectious diseases in cultured fish are considered. Lactic acid bacteria are representatives of the fish microbiota, they have antagonistic activity against opportunistic pathogens, fungi and viruses that cause microbiological spoilage of feed, pollute water bodies, and cause diseases of aquatic animals. The review provides information on various researches in which lactic acid bacteria or products derived from them have been used to assess their potential in aquaculture. Numerous scientific studies prove the value of this vast group of microorganisms for the prevention and treatment of fish diseases, for increasing the resistance of aquatic animals to infectious diseases and various stresses, for improving their survival and productivity, and for improving water sanitation in fish reservoirs. Increased use of effective probiotic lactic acid bacteria in aquaculture can make the fish sector safer, more productive and friendly to the environment and human well-being, and will contribute to the sustainable development of aquaculture.

Carotenoids are one of the most studied groups of biologically active compounds. They have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and coloring properties and are particularly interesting for the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, food, feed, cosmetic, and textile industries. Rapidly growing consumer demand for natural products has led to a significant increase in research and development of opportunities for their production from natural sources. Among the sources of carotenoids of natural origin, various microorganisms are of greater interest. This mini-review briefly summarizes the information published mainly during the last decade about carotenoid-producing microorganisms, the physiological importance of carotenoids for microbial cells, and the possibilities to improve their biosynthesis. This review also describes some new approaches/directions to make biotechnological production of microbial carotenoids more efficient.

Bread is consumed daily throughout the world as an important source of nutrients. However, bakery products are highly susceptible to spoilage, especially fungal, which is a source of bread losses and a threat to food security and consumer health. The use of sourdough is the best alternative to chemical preservatives, while providing a number of advantages to baked bread. This review highlights the main areas in the field of bread protection and covers the principal representatives of sourdough microbiota and their contribution to protecting bread from spoilage. The review is mainly based on publications in the field of research over the last five years, identifying new directions and strategies for bread protection related to the use of sourdoughs. A list of the main compounds produced by lactic acid bacteria of the sourdough, which contribute to the protection of bread from fungal spoilage, is presented. The contribution of other microorganisms to the antifungal effect is also considered. Finally, some prospects for the development of research in the field of sourdoughs are determined.

The article reviews the literature on antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) that exhibit unique antimicrobial mechanisms, such as broad-spectrum activity, low development of antimicrobial resistance, and the ability to modulate the immune response of the host organism. Information is provided on the significant potential of AMPs in the fight against pathogens threatening human health and food safety. Enrichment of the human diet with biologically active peptides obtained using the proteolytic activity of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) is proposed as a simple, accessible, and viable alternative to antibiotics that does not have a harmful side effect. The review briefly covers the methods for obtaining AMPs and features of the LAB proteolytic system responsible for producing bioactive peptides in the environment. It has been shown that using various LAB strains makes it possible to produce high-quality whey-based beverages with different directions of antagonistic activity against opportunistic pathogens and helps optimize the gastrointestinal microbiota. It is assumed that such drinks can reduce the dose of antimicrobials in the combined therapy of various infectious diseases and be a preventive measure against contagion and the spread of antimicrobial resistance.