Lactic acid bacteria as a starter culture are very important component in the fermentation process of dairy and food industry. Application of lactic acid bacteria as probiotic bacteria adds more functionality to the developed product. Gut colonizing bacteria have attractive benefits related to human health. Bio-functional properties such as antimicrobial activity, anti-inflammatory, ACE-inhibitory, antioxidant, antidiarrheal, antiviral, immunomodulatory, hypocholesterolemic, anti-diabetic and anti-cancer activities are the most applicable research areas of lactic acid bacteria. Different strains of Lactobacillus are generally consumed as probiotics and colonize the gastrointestinal tract. Sometimes these bacteria may possess antimicrobial activity and may positively influence the effect of antibiotics. Use of Lactobacillus spp. for the development of functional foods is one of the promising areas of current research and applications. Individual bacterial species have unique biological activity, which may vary from strains to strains and identification of this uniqueness could be helpful in the development of functional and therapeutic food products.

乳酸菌作为发酵剂是乳制品和食品工业发酵过程中非常重要的组成部分。乳酸菌作为益生菌的应用为开发的产品增加了更多功能。肠道定殖细菌具有与人类健康相关的诱人益处。诸如细菌活性，抗炎，ACE-抑制，抗氧化剂，腹泻，抗病毒，免疫调节，降胆固醇，抗糖尿病和抗癌活性等生物功能特性是乳酸菌最适用的研究领域。通常将不同菌株的乳酸杆菌作为益生菌食用，并在胃肠道定居。有时，这些细菌可能具有抗菌活性，并且可能对抗生素的作用产生积极影响。用于乳杆菌属。开发功能性食品是当前研究和应用的有希望的领域之一。单个细菌物种具有独特的生物活性，可能因菌株而异，识别这种独特性可能有助于功能性和治疗性食品的开发。