Abstract

Elderly represents the fastest growing class of the population in the Western world. Advances in the field of medicine are leading to growing life expectancies of population, and to a longer endurance of immunocompromised and elderly individuals, which are at higher risk for listeriosis. Furthermore, a revolution of social and food habits is taking place worldwide with an increasing demand for ready-to-eat processed foods that represent the most threat for L. monocytogenes infection.

The invasion of the intestinal barrier is the first step in the L. monocytogenes infection mechanism, thus probiotics may provide significant protection against listeriosis. In this sense, the use of probiotics may represent a new effective tool to successfully counteract this pathogen with regard to intestinal colonization and organ invasion.

The project herein presented comprises the development of a novel functional probiotic-based fermented milk with potential of in situ antilisterial bacteriocin production to be used as a prophylactic therapy for L. monocytogenes infection particularly relevant for the elderly given the extraordinary rate at which the global population is aging.
 

Keywords

Dairy, Probiotic, Listeriosis, Functional Food