Lactobacillus helveticus is a lactic-acid producing rod shaped bacterium of the genus Lactobacillus. It is most commonly used in the production of Swiss cheese and Emmental cheese but is also sometimes used in making other styles of cheese, such as Cheddar, Parmesan, romano, provolone, and mozzarella. The primary function of L. helveticus culture is to prevent bitterness and produce nutty flavors in the final cheese. In Swiss and Emmental cheese production, L. helveticus is used in conjunction with a Propionibacter culture, which is responsible for developing the holes (known as “eyes”) through production of carbon dioxide gas.
Ingestion of powdered milk fermented with L. helveticus was shown to decrease blood pressure due to the presence of manufactured tripeptides that have ACE inhibitor activity.
The bacterium’s specific name comes from “Helvetia”, the Latin name for the region occupied by the ancient Helvetii (and for modern Switzerland).
The species Lactobacillus helveticus has been well studied and several probiotic effects are reported in the literature: ability to survive in the stomach and to reach the intestine alive, exerting antimicrobial activities against pathogens, alleviating symptoms of lactose intolerance, helping to prevent and reduce the duration of diarrhoea, possibly reducing the cholesterol level, and helping the natural defences.
Tags: Probiotic