Biological and thechnological application of kefiran an EPS from kefir grains

ABRAHAM A. G.

Buenos Aires

Workshop; Bioscience and Biotechnology for the Promotion of Agriculture and Food Production; 2009

Mincyt y JST

Kefiran, a high-MW EPS produced by microorganisms present in the grains of the Kefir fermented milk, has displayed novel applications in the food industry. Kefiran, which has a Newtonian behaviour in diluted solutions but pseudoplastic at high concentrations, improves the viscosity and viscoelastic properties of acid milk gels. This EPS is also able to form gels at low temperatures, and brittle and rigid films. However, glycerol addition confers it extremely high elongation values, allowing comparable flexibilities to those of synthetic material. In addition, several health-promoting properties of kefiran such as immunomodulation or epithelium protection have been reported. Furthermore, Kefiran has the ability to antagonize biological activity of Bacillus cereus on Caco-2 cells thus providing new perspectives for the role of this bacterial EPS in functional foods.