Abstract:

The potential of lactic acid bacteria strain X3-2B for use as a starter culture in fermented sausages was evaluated with
reference to its cholesterol-lowering activity and fermentation characteristics. The results showed that the strain X3-2B had the
highest degradation efficiency on cholesterols at 30 ℃ and pH 5.5 in MRS-CHOL screening medium that exceeded that of
L. plantarum reference strain. The water activity, pH, color and lactic acid bacterial count of fermented sausage made using X3-2B as
the starter culture were significantly superior to those of spontaneously fermented sausage (P ＜ 0.05), when sampled at the same
times. The cholesterol content in X3-2B fermented sausage at 14 days of fermentation was significantly lower than at 0 day (P ＜ 0.05).
After 56 days of storage, X3-2B fermented sausage showed a lower cholesterol content than both spontaneous fermentation and
L. plantarum reference strain. Therefore, X3-2B can be used as a good starter culture in fermented meat products.

Key words: lactic acid bacteria, cholesterol-reducing capacity, starter culture, functions, fermentation characteristics