Uli Walker
We are starting to realize that bacteria are not the weird, sick kid in the class, but actually the cool, funky, interesting social butterflies. And the star of this show is Lactobacillus plantarum.
Gherkins , love them or hate them every one has encountered them in there life if it was on a burger or in a potato salad .Gherkins are pickled cucumbers (sliced or whole) that have been fermented and preserved in salted brine or vinegar. The acidity of the brine aids in Lacto-fermentation with the cucumber, yielding the sharp and delicious gherkins we know and love.
Pickles are often made via a method known as lacto-fermentation, in which cucumbers are soaked in a brine solution including salt and spices. This technique generates an environment favorable for the growth of beneficial bacteria, especially Lactobacillus plantarum, which ferments the cucumbers and gives them their characteristic tangy flavor.
L. plantarum is a Gram-positive, bacilli-shaped bacterium. L. plantarum cells are rods with rounded ends, straight, 0.9-1.2 μm broad and 3-8 μm long, found singly, in pairs, or in short chains. L. plantarum has one of the biggest genomes known among the lactic acid bacteria and is a very adaptable species.
This species has GRAS status,( Generally Recognized As Safe), and multiple L. plantarum strains have been identified from various ecological niches such as meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, milk, and cereal products. L. plantarum has been employed as a starting culture in several food fermentation procedures, adding to the organoleptic characteristics, taste, and texture.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/87559129.2010.484113
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1756464615003060
L. plantarum has shown to be an important species for the production of probiotics, with a variety of benefits for gut health, metabolic diseases, and cognitive health. Lactobacilli can reduce intestinal damage caused by some bacterial infections. Lactobacillus probiotics have been found to suppress the development of infection with harmful bacteria.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30141154/#:~:text=plantarum%20have%20proven%20to%20be,Characteristics%20of%20L.
