The rising demand for sustainable, nutritious, and functional food options has fueled growing interest in plant-based fermented foods. These products offer enhanced sensory, functional, and health-promoting properties, largely driven by microbial activity during fermentation. This review examines recent advances in microbial biotechnology—including the use of novel starter cultures, strain engineering, CRISPR-based genome editing, and precision fermentation that are reshaping the nutritional landscape of plant-based fermented foods. Key benefits such as improved protein digestibility, bioactive compound synthesis, antinutrient reduction, and micronutrient bioavailability are explored. Additionally, the review highlights the potential of microbial innovations to enhance sustainability, address global nutrition challenges, and improve consumer acceptance through better sensory quality. It also discusses challenges related to regulatory frameworks, scalability, and consumer perception. This review aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how microbial processes can optimize the nutritional and functional value of plant-based fermented foods in alignment with future food system goals.

1. The quality of human life is being negatively impacted by the excessive consumption of global resources, which also poses a significant threat to the environment (Mujtaba et al. 2023). To promot...

The present study aimed to characterize the biosurfactants synthesized by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) obtained from fermented foods, optimize the conditions for increasing the yield of biosurfactants and explore their antimicrobial and antibiofilm potential. Out of the 26 LAB isolates, isolate BS2 showed the highest biosurfactant production as indicated in the oil displacement test, drop collapse and emulsification activity. BS2 was identified as Lactiplantibacillus plantarum 1625 using 16S-rRNA gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. The biosurfactant produced by BS2 was identified as an anionic glycol-lipo-proteins by employing Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis. The biosurfactants produced by L. plantarum 1625 demonstrated strong antibacterial and antibiofilm characteristics against pathogenic strains such as Staphylococcus aureus MTCC 1049, Escherichia coli MTCC 1587, and Pseudomonas putida MTCC 1655. The minimal inhibition concentration value of antibacterial activity was found to be 0.1 mg/mL with the inhibition percentage ranging from 90 to 95%. Further, the effect of temperature, pH, and substrate composition on biosurfactant production was also studied to enhance it production using the Box–Behnken Design approach of Response surface methodology (RSM). Application of biosurfactant led to a considerable decrease in biofilm-forming harmful bacteria, as proven by scanning electron microscopy analysis. The results highlight the potential uses of biosurfactants in distinct industries, and biotechnological contexts, especially in the creation of new antimicrobial and antibiofilm agents.