Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) inocula play a key role in the preservation and fermentation of forage crops within inoculated silages. LAB is a significant group of the bacterial community as they successfully reduce pH, inhibit the survival of undesirable microorganisms and control nutrient loss in fermented silage. Ensiled plants and metabolites such as simple plant carbohydrates have been utilized by LAB (homo-fermentative and hetero-fermentative LAB) to initiate the production of organic acids including lactic and acetic acids. LAB as a biological silage additive provides stable feed value and secondary metabolic products during rapid anaerobic primary silage fermentation. They are able to ferment a large number of forage crops and also to reduce pH levels in fermented forages, which helps to suppress the growth of spoilage microorganisms. Furthermore, silage inoculants can enhance silage quality, nutritional recovery and shelf life of the inoculated product. When ingested silage, Lactobacilli in the rumen may degrade secondary plant metabolites as part of the rumen microbiota, along with endogenous enzymes. Also, the forages harvesting time are key factors in the development of essential metabolites particularly carbohydrates and proteins which is essential nutrition for LAB survival and production of organic acids. The higher population of LAB could reduce the pH faster and control of deleterious microbial growth in silage. This review presents LAB function in silage production and the potential impacts of its fermentative activity. In addition, the advantage of LAB additives in silage production is discussed, with a focus on recent literature.

Lactobacillus plantarum is a Gram positive lactic acid bacterium commonly found in fermented food and in the gastro intestinal tract and is commonly used in the food industry as a potential starter probiotic. Recently, the consumption of food together with probiotics has tremendously increased. Among the lactic acid bacteria, L. plantarum attracted many researchers because of its wide applications in the medical field with antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, anti-obesity and antidiabetic properties. The present study aimed to investigate the in vitro importance of L. plantarum toward medical applications. Moreover, this report short listed various reports related to the applications of this promising strain. In conclusion, this study would attract the researchers in commercializing this strain toward the welfare of humans related to medical needs.

Aims The purpose of this study was to isolate, identify and characterize an antifungal compound from Lactobacillus plantarum KCC‐10 from forage silage with potential beneficial properties. Methods and Results The 16S rRNA gene‐based phylogenetic affiliation was determined using bioinformatic tools and identified as Lactobacillus sp. KCC‐10 with 100% sequence similarity to L. plantarum. The antifungal substances were extracted with ethyl acetate from spent medium in which Lactobacillus sp. KCC‐10 was cultivated. Antifungal activity was assessed using the broth microdilution technique. The compounds were obtained by eluting the crude extract with various concentrations of solvents followed by chromatographic purification. Based on the infrared, ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and ¹H NMR spectral data, the compound was identified as a phenolic‐related antibiotic. The minimum inhibitory concentration of the compound against Aspergillus clavatus, A. oryzae, Botrytis elliptica and Scytalidium vaccinii was 2·5 mg ml⁻¹ and that against A. fumigatus, A. niger and S. fusca was 5·0 mg ml⁻¹, respectively. In addition, Lactobacillus sp. KCC‐10 was highly sensitive towards oxgall (0·3%) but grew well in the presence of sodium taurocholate (0·3%). An antimicrobial susceptibility pattern was an intrinsic feature of this strain; thus, consumption does not represent a health risk to humans or animals. Conclusion Novel L. plantarum KCC‐10 with antifungal and potential probiotic properties was characterized for use in animal food. Significance and Impact of the Study This study revealed that L. plantarum KCC‐10 exhibited good antifungal activity similar to that of probiotic Lactobacillus strains.

Synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) through biological route plays an important role in their applications in the medical field, especially in the prevention of disease causing microbial pathogens and arresting the propagation of cancer cells. The stable, green synthesis of AgNPs is very much welcomed in the medical field because of their low toxicity. Therefore, the demands of AgNPs synthesised biologically is on the rise. The present study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial mechanisms and anticancer properties of the AgNPs synthesized using the seed extract of Trigonella foenum-graecum L. The AgNPs were characterized by UV-vis, SEM, XRD, FTIR and EDAX analysis. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of the AgNPs were determined by the broth micro dilution method. The formation of brownish red color indicated the formation NPs with the absorption maximum at 420 nm. The average size was found to be 33.93 nm and sphere shaped. The FTIR spectrum revealed the absorption bands at 3340 cm-1 and 1635 cm-1 indicated the presence of -OH or -COOH and amide group stretching in the AgNPs. The X-ray diffraction report confirmed the presence of strong peak values of 2θ within the angle of 37.1°. The lowest MIC of the AgNPs against Staphylococcus aureus was 62.5 μg mL-1. MIC values against Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia, were 125 and 250 μg mL-1 respectively. The MIC of the AgNPs against Aspergillus flavus, Trichophyton rubrum and Trichoderma viridiae were each 250 μg mL-1, respectively. The extracellular protein concentration, levels of lactate dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphtase enzyme in the AgNPs treated bacterial pathogens demonstrated greater antimicrobial mechanism. Additionally, the AgNPs exhibited significant anticancer activity against the MCF7 and Vero cell lines. The synthesized AgNPs could be further evaluated in large scale as a botanical antimicrobial agent.