Cited by 438GABA and Rice ResearchProbiotics and Fermented FoodsPolyamine Metabolism and Applications

Synthesis of γ-Aminobutyric Acid by Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from a Variety of Italian Cheeses

Open access
Siragusa, S., De Angelis, M., Di Cagno, R., Rizzello, C. G., Coda, R., Gobbetti, M.·2007·Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Abstract

The concentrations of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in 22 Italian cheese varieties that differ in several technological traits markedly varied from 0.26 to 391 mg kg −1 . Presumptive lactic acid bacteria were isolated from each cheese variety (total of 440 isolates) and screened for the capacity to synthesize GABA. Only 61 isolates showed this activity and were identified by partial sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Twelve species were found. Lactobacillus paracasei PF6, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus PR1, Lactococcus lactis PU1, Lactobacillus plantarum C48, and Lactobacillus brevis PM17 were the best GABA-producing strains during fermentation of reconstituted skimmed milk. Except for L. plantarum C48, all these strains were isolated from cheeses with the highest concentrations of GABA. A core fragment of glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) DNA was isolated from L. paracasei PF6, L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus PR1, L. lactis PU1, and L. plantarum C48 by using primers based on two highly conserved regions of GAD. A PCR product of ca. 540 bp was found for all the strains. The amino acid sequences deduced from nucleotide sequence analysis showed 98, 99, 90, and 85% identity to GadB of L. plantarum WCFS1 for L. paracasei PF6, L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus PR1, L. lactis PU1, and L. plantarum C48, respectively. Except for L. lactis PU1, the three lactobacillus strains survived and synthesized GABA under simulated gastrointestinal conditions. The findings of this study provide a potential basis for exploiting selected cheese-related lactobacilli to develop health-promoting dairy products enriched in GABA.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1128/aem.01064-07

Cites

3 of 3 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Escherichia spp. and Lactobacillus spp. have been demonstrated to synthesize GABA.

    “Escherichia spp.(Richard and Foster, 2003) and Lactobacillus spp.(Siragusa et al., 2007) have been demonstrated to synthesize GABA.”

    From The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis (2019) · cites this paper as Siragusa et al., 2007

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 51

  1. [1]Adeghate, E., and A. S. Ponery. 2002. GABA in the endocrine pancreas: cellular localization and function in normal and diabetic rats. Tissue Cell 34:1-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. [2]Altschul, S. F., T. L. Madden, A. A. Schäffer, J. Zhang, Z. Zhang, W. Miller, and D. J. Lipman. 1997. Grapped BLAST and PSI-BLAST: a new generation of protein database search programs. Nucleic Acids Res. 25:3389-3402. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. [3]Aoki, H., Y. Furuya, Y. Endo, and K. Fujimoto. 2003. Effect of gamma-aminobutyric acid-enriched tempeh-like fermented soybean (GABA- tempeh) on the blood pressure of spontaneously hypertensive rats. Biosci. Biotechnol. Biochem. 67:1806-1808. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. [4]Chou, L., and B. Weimer. 1999. Isolation and characterization of acid- and bile-tolerant isolates from strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus. J. Dairy Sci. 82:23-31. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. [5]Cotter, P. D., and C. Hill. 2003. Surviving the acid text: responses of gram-positive bacteria to low pH. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 67:429-453. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. [7]De Angelis, M., S. Siragusa, M. Berloco, L. Caputo, L. Settanni, G. Alfonsi, M. Amerio, A. Grandi, A. Ragni, and M. Gobbetti. 2006. Isolation, identification and selection of potential probiotic lactobacilli from pig faeces to be used as additives in pelleted feeling. Res. Microbiol. 157:792-801. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. [8]De Angelis, M., C. G. Rizzello, E. Scala, C. De Simone, G. A. Farris, F. Turrini, and M. Gobbetti. 2007. Probiotic preparation has the capacity to hydrolyze proteins responsible for wheat allergy. J. Food Prot. 70:135-144. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. [9]De Biase, D., A. Tramonti, R. A. John, and F. Bossa. 1996. Isolation, overexpression, and biochemical characterization of the two isoforms of glutamic acid decarboxylase from Escherichia coli. Protein Expr. Purif. 8:430-438. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. [10]De Los Reyes-Gavilán, C. G., G. K. Y. Limsowtin, P. Tailliez, L. Séchaud, and J. P. Accolas. 1992. A Lactobacillus helveticus-specific DNA probe detects restriction fragment length polymorphisms in this species. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 58:3429-3432. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. [11]Di Cagno, R., S. Buchin, S. de Candia, M. De Angelis, P. F. Fox, and M. Gobbetti. 2007. Characterization of Italian cheeses ripened under non-conventional conditions. J. Dairy Sci. 90:2689-2704. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. [12]Diplock, A. T., P. J. Aggett, M. Ashwell, F. Bornet, E. B. Fern, and M. B. Roberfroid. 1999. Scientific concepts of functional foods in Europe—consensus document. Br. J. Nutr. 81:1-27. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. [13]Fernández, M. F., S. Boris, and C. Barbés. 2003. Probiotic properties of human lactobacilli strains to be used in the gastrointestinal tract. J. Appl. Microbiol. 94:449-455. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. [14]Gobbetti, M., M. De Angelis, R. Di Cagno, and C. G. Rizzello. 2007. The relative contributions of starter cultures and non-starter bacteria to the flavour of cheese, p. 121-156. In B. Weimer (ed.), Improving the flavour of cheese. Woodhead Publishing, Cambridge, England.
  14. [15]Gobbetti, M., L. Stepaniak, M. De Angelis, A. Corsetti, and R. Di Cagno. 2002. Latent bioactive peptides in milk proteins: proteolytic activation and significance in dairy processing. Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nutr. 42:223-239. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. [16]Hagiwara, H., T. Seki, and T. Ariga. 2004. The effect of pre-germinated brown rice intake on blood glucose and PAI-1 levels in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Biosci. Biotechnol. Biochem. 68:444-447. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. [17]Hayakawa, K., Y. Ueno, S. Kawamura, R. Taniguchi, and K. Oda. 1997. Production of γ-aminobutyric acid by lactic acid bacteria. Seibutsu-kogaku Kaishi 75:239-244. [Google Scholar]
  17. [18]Hayakawa, K., M. Kimura, K. Kasaha, K. Matsumoto, H. Sansawa, and Y. Yamori. 2004. Effect of a gamma-aminobutyric acid-enriched dairy product on the blood pressure of spontaneously hypertensive and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats. Br. J. Nutr. 92:411-417. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. [19]Higuchi, T., H. Hayashi, and K. Abe. 1997. Exchange of glutamate and γ-aminobutyrate in a Lactobacillus strain. J. Bacteriol. 179:3362-3364. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. [20]Inoue, K., T. Shirai, H. Ochiai, M. Kasao, K. Hayakawa, M. Kimura, and H. Sansawa. 2003. Blood-pressure-lowering effect of a novel fermented milk containing gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in mild hypertensives. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 57:490-495. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. [24]Jakobs, C., J. Jaeken, and K. M. Gibson. 1993. Inherited disorders of GABA metabolism. J. Inherit. Metab. Dis. 16:704-715. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. [25]Kajimoto, O., H. Hirata, S. Nakagawa, Y. Kajimoto, K. Hayakawa, and M. Kimura. 2004. Hypotensive effect of fermented milk containing γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in subjects with high normal blood pressure. Nippon Shokuhin Kagaku Kogaku Kaishi 51:79-86. [Google Scholar]
  22. [26]Kinefuchi, M., M. Sekiya, A. Yamazaiki, and K. Yamamoto. 1999. Accumulation of GABA in brown rice by high pressure treatment. Nippon Shokuhin Kagaku Kaishi 46:323-328. [Google Scholar]
  23. [29]Mao, Y., M. P. Doyle, and J. Chen. 2006. Role of colonic acid exopolysaccharide in the survival of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 in simulated gastrointestinal fluids. Lett. Appl. Microbiol. 42:642-647. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. [30]Nagaoka, H. 2005. Treatment of germinated wheat to increase levels of GABA and IP6 catalyzed by endogenous enzymes. Biotechnol. Prog. 21:405-410. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. [31]Nakamura, Y., N. Yamamoto, K. Skai, and T. Takano. 1995. Antihypertensive effect of sour milk and peptides isolated from it that are inhibitors to angiotensin I-converting enzyme. J. Dairy Sci. 78:1253-1257. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. [32]Nomura, M., H. Kimoto, Y. Someya, S. Furukawa, and I. Suzuki. 1998. Production of γ-aminobutyric acid by cheese starters during cheese ripening. J. Dairy Sci. 81:1486-1491. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. [33]Nomura, M., H. Kimoto, Y. Someya, S. Furukawa, and I. Suzuki. 1999. Novel characterization for distinguishing Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis from subsp. cremoris. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 49:163-166. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. [34]Nomura, M., I. Nakajima, Y. Fujita, M. Kobayashi, H. Kimono, I. Suzuki, and H. Aso. 1999b. Lactococcus lactis contains only glutamate decarboxylase gene. Microbiology 154:1375-1380. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. [35]Oh, S. H. 2003. Stimulation of gamma-aminobutyric acid synthesis activity in brown rice by a chitosan/Glu germination solution and calcium/calmodulin. J. Biochem. Mol. Biol. 36:319-325. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. [36]Oh, S. H., and C. H. Oh. 2003. Brown rice extracts with enhanced levels of GABA stimulate immune cells. Food Sci. Biotechnol. 12:248-252. [Google Scholar]
  31. [37]Oh, S. H., J. R. Soh, and Y. S. Cha. 2003. Germinated brown rice extract shows a nutraceutical effect in the recovery of chronic alcohol-related symptoms. J. Med. Food 6:115-121. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. [38]Ohmori, M., T. Yano, J. Okamoto, T. Tsushida, T. Murai, and M. Higuchi. 1987. Effect of anaerobically treated tea on blood pressure of spontaneous hypertensive rats. Nippon Nogeikagaku Kaishi 61:1449-1451. [Google Scholar]
  33. [39]Okada, T., T. Sugishita, T. Murakami, H. Murai, T. Saikusa, T. Hotorino, A. Onoda, O. Kajimoto, R. Takahashi, and T. Takahashi. 2000. Effect of the defatted rice germ enriched with GABA for sleeplessness, depression, autonomic disorder by oral administration. Nippon Shokuhin Kagaku Kaishi 47:596-603. [Google Scholar]
  34. [40]Park, K. B., and S. H. Oh. 2004. Cloning and expression of a full-length glutamate decarboxylase gene from Lactobacillus plantarum. J. Food Sci. Nutr. 9:324-329. [Google Scholar]
  35. [41]Park, K. B., and S. H. Oh. 2005. Production and characterization of GABA rice yogurt. J. Food Sci. Biotechnol. 14:518-522. [Google Scholar]
  36. [42]Park, K. B., and S. H. Oh. 2007. Cloning, sequencing and expression of a novel glutamate decarboxylase gene from a newly isolated lactic acid bacterium, Lactobacillus brevis OPK-3. Bioresour. Technol. 98:312-319. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. [43]Pasini, G., M. Simonato, M. Giannattasio, A. D. B. Peruffo, and A. Curioni. 2001. Modification of wheat flour proteins during in vivo digestion of bread dough, crumb and crust: an electrophoretic and immunological study. J. Agric. Food Chem. 49:2254-2259. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. [44]Rhyu, M. R., E. Y. Kim, H. Y. Kim, B. H. Ahn, and C. B. Yang. 2000. Characteristics of the red rice fermented with fungus Monascus. Food Sci. Biotechnol. 9:21-26. [Google Scholar]
  39. [45]Rizzello, C. G., I. Losito, M. Gobbetti, T. Carbonara, M. D. De Bari, and P. G. Zambonin. 2005. Antibacterial activities of peptides from the water-soluble extracts of Italian cheese varieties. J. Dairy Sci. 88:2348-2360. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. [46]Saikusa, T., T. Horino, and Y. Mori. 1994. Accumulation of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the rice germ during water soaking. Biosci. Biotechnol. Biochem. 58:2291-2292. [Google Scholar]
  41. [47]Sanders, J. W., K. Leenhouts, J. Burghoorn, J. R. Brands, G. Venema, and J. Kok. 1998. A chloride-inducible acid resistance mechanism in Lactococcus lactis and its regulation. Mol. Microbiol. 27:299-310. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. [48]Sanders, M. E. 1998. Overview of functional foods: emphasis on probiotic bacteria. Int. Dairy J. 8:341-347. [Google Scholar]
  43. [49]Small, P. L. C., and S. R. Waterman. 1998. Acid stress, anaerobiosis and gadCB: lessons from Lactococcus lactis and Escherichia coli. Trends Microbiol. 6:214-216. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  44. [50]Smith, D. K., T. Kassam, B. Singh, and J. F. Elliott. 1992. Escherichia coli has two homologous glutamate decarboxylase genes that map to distinct loci. J. Bacteriol. 174:5820-5826. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  45. [51]Ueno, H. 2000. Enzymatic and structural aspects on glutamate decarboxylase. J. Mol. Catal. 10:67-79. [Google Scholar]
  46. [52]Ueno, Y., K. Hayakawa, S. Takahashi, and K. Oda. 1997. Purification and characterization of glutamate decarboxylase from Lactobacillus brevis IFO 12005. Biosci. Biotechnol. Biochem. 61:1168-1171. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  47. [53]Wong, C. G., T. Bottiglieri, and O. C. Snead III. 2003. GABA, γ-hydroxybutyric acid, and neurological disease. Ann. Neurol. 54(Suppl. 6):S3-S12. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  48. [54]Xu, J., X. Xu, and W. Verstraete. 2001. The bactericidal effect and chemical reactions of acidified nitrite under conditions simulating the stomach. J. Appl. Microbiol. 90:523-529. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  49. [55]Zapparoli, G., S. Torriani, and F. Dellaglio. 1998. Differentiation of Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis strains by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 166:324-332. [Google Scholar]
  50. [56]Zárate, G. A., S. P. Chaia, and G. O. González. 2000. Viability and β-galactosidase activity of dairy propionibacteria subjected to digestion by artificial gastric and intestinal fluids. J. Food Prot. 63:1214-1221. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  51. [57]Zwietering, M. H., I. Jongeberger, F. M. Roumbouts, and K. van 't Riet. 1990. Modeling of the bacterial growth curve. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 56:1875-1881. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Siragusa, S., De Angelis, M., Di Cagno, R., Rizzello, C. G., Coda, R., & Gobbetti, M.
Affiliations
  • University of Bari Aldo Moro (IT)
  • Dipartimento di Protezione delle Piante e Microbiologia Applicata, Università degli Studi di Bari, Bari 70126, Italy
Venue
Applied and Environmental Microbiology
Published
2007-11-15
Volume
73
Issue
22
Pages
7283-7290
ISSN
  • 0099-2240 (ISSN-L)
  • 1098-5336
OpenAlex
W2127666176
Cited by
438
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 23 · 2023: 36 · 2022: 36 · 2021: 37 · 2020: 39 · 2019: 33 · 2018: 22 · 2017: 30 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 24 · 2014: 25 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 13
FWCI
12.56
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Applied and Environmental Microbiology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • IRIS Research product catalog (Sapienza University of Rome) (submittedVersion)
  • CINECA IRIS Institutional Research Information System (University of Bari Aldo Moro) (submittedVersion)
  • Open Research (University of Surrey) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › GABA and Rice Research
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Probiotics and Fermented Foods
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Polyamine Metabolism and Applications
Keywords
GABA, GABA synthesis, lactic acid bacteria, Italian cheese, glutamic acid decarboxylase, gadB, Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Lactococcus lactis, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus brevis, gastrointestinal survival, 16S rRNA identification
MeSH terms
Amino Acid Sequence, Cheese, Dairy Products, DNA, Bacterial, Food Microbiology, gamma-Aminobutyric Acid, Genotype, Glutamate Decarboxylase, Italy, Lactobacillus, Molecular Sequence Data, RNA, Ribosomal, 16S, Sequence Homology, Amino Acid, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus delbrueckii, Levilactobacillus brevis

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review