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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Nutr.

Sec. Nutrition and Food Science Technology

This article is part of the Research TopicInnovative Strategies for the Control of Foodborne BacteriaView all articles

Camel Milk Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris: A Biocontrol Agent against Staphylococcus aureus for Fresh Beef Biopreser-vation

Provisionally accepted
Bilal LATRECHEBilal LATRECHE1*Nabila BrahamiaNabila Brahamia2Esma BendjamaEsma Bendjama3Lotfi LoucifLotfi Loucif4Ibtissem SanahIbtissem Sanah5Fairouz DjeghimFairouz Djeghim5Mohammed MessaoudiMohammed Messaoudi6Irene GiordanoIrene Giordano7Jean-Marc RolainJean-Marc Rolain8*Maria D'eliaMaria D'elia9Luca RastrelliLuca Rastrelli10,9*Samira Be- CilaSamira Be- Cila5
  • 1Institut de la Nutrition, de l’Alimentation et des Technologies Agro-Alimentaires (INATAA),, Universite Freres Mentouri Constantine 1, Constantine, Algeria
  • 2Faculty of Nature and Life Sciences, Universite de Jijel, Jijel, Algeria
  • 3Institut des Sciences Vétérinaires et des Sciences Agronomiques, Universite Batna 2 Institut d'Hygiene et Securite Industrielle, Fesdis, Algeria
  • 4Faculté des Sciences de la Nature et de la Vie, Universite Batna 2 Institut d'Hygiene et Securite Industrielle, Fesdis, Algeria
  • 5Institut de la Nutrition, de l’Alimentation et des Technologies Agro-Alimentaires (INATAA), Universite Freres Mentouri Constantine 1, Constantine, Algeria
  • 6Centre de Recherche Nucleaire de Birine, Djelfa, Algeria
  • 7Department of Agricultural Science, Universita degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy
  • 8Aix-Marseille Universite Faculte de Pharmacie, Marseille, France
  • 9Universita degli Studi di Salerno Dipartimento di Farmacia, Fisciano, Italy
  • 10University of Salerno, Fisciano, Italy

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The increasing demand for natural food preservation methods has drawn attention to lactic acid bacteria (LAB) due to their antimicrobial potential. In this study, two mixed LAB cultures (MCP1 and MCP2), composed of four Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris strains isolated from Algerian dromedary camel milk, were evaluated for their biopreservative efficacy in fresh beef stored at 8 °C. Nineteen initial LAB isolates were screened for safety, low-temperature growth, CO₂ production, antibacterial and antioxidant activity, and inter-strain compatibility. Selected strains were identified by MALDI-TOF MS and 16S rRNA sequencing, and their acidifying power was assessed. MCP2 showed a strong inhibitory effect on total aerobic mesophilic count (TAMC), with a significant 2.66 log₁₀ CFU/g reduction (−24.18%) after six days. Both cultures reduced total coliforms (TC), while MCP1 demonstrated superior antistaphylococcal activity, achieving a 5.55 log₁₀ CFU/g reduction (−50.45%) in Staphylococcus aureus after 10 days. MCP2 achieved a lesser reduction of 1.89 log₁₀ CFU/g (−17.18%). These findings highlight the potential of camel-derived LAB as natural protective cultures for meat biopreservation, reducing spoilage and enhancing microbial safety. Further studies should explore their effects on sensory attributes and integration with packaging technologies.

Keywords: Lactic acid bacteria, Camel milk, MALDI-TOF MS, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, Staphylococcus aureus, biopreservation, Beef

Received: 10 Aug 2025; Accepted: 28 Nov 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 LATRECHE, Brahamia, Bendjama, Loucif, Sanah, Djeghim, Messaoudi, Giordano, Rolain, D'elia, Rastrelli and Be- Cila. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Bilal LATRECHE
Jean-Marc Rolain
Luca Rastrelli

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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