In Gouda and Cheddar type cheeses the amino acid conversion to aroma compounds, which is a major process for aroma formation, is essentially due to lactic acid bacteria (LAB). In order to evaluate the respective role of starter and nonstarter LAB and their interactions in cheese flavor formation, we compared the catabolism of phenylalanine, leucine, and methionine by single strains and strain mixtures of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris NCDO763 and three mesophilic lactobacilli. Amino acid catabolism was studied in vitro at pH 5.5, by using radiolabeled amino acids as tracers. In the presence of α-ketoglutarate, which is essential for amino acid transamination, the lactobacillus strains degraded less amino acids than L. lactis subsp. cremoris NCDO763, and produced mainly nonaromatic metabolites. L. lactis subsp. cremoris NCDO763 produced mainly the carboxylic acids, which are important compounds for cheese aroma. However, in the reaction mixture containing glutamate, only two lactobacillus strains degraded amino acids significantly. This was due to their glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) activity, which produced α-ketoglutarate from glutamate. The combination of each of the GDH-positive lactobacilli with L. lactis subsp. cremoris NCDO763 had a beneficial effect on the aroma formation. Lactobacilli initiated the conversion of amino acids by transforming them mainly to keto and hydroxy acids, which subsequently were converted to carboxylic acids by the Lactococcus strain. Therefore, we think that such cooperation between starter L. lactis and GDH-positive lactobacilli can stimulate flavor development in cheese.
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