Production of Antimicrobial Substances by Lactic Acid Bacteria II: Screening Bacteriocin-Producing Strains With Probiotic Purposes and Characterizatio

Bacteriocins have been defined as proteinaceous, bactericidal substances synthesized by bacteria, which usually have a narrow spectrum of activity, only inhibiting strains of the same or closely related species (1 ). The term bacteriocin-like substance is applied to antagonistic substances that are not completely defined or do not fit the typical criteria of bacteriocins. They have been reported to inhibit a wide range of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as fungi (2 ).