Complex carbohydrates, proteins, and other food components require a longer digestion process to be absorbed by the lining of the alimentary canal. In addition to the enzymes of the gastrointestinal tract, gut microbiota, comprising a large range of bacteria and fungi, has complementary action on the production of digestive enzymes. Within this universe of "hidden soldiers", lactobacilli are extensively studied because of their ability to produce lactase, proteases, peptidases, fructanases, amylases, bile salt hydrolases, phytases, and esterases. The administration of living lactobacilli cells has been shown to increase nutrient digestibility. However, it is still little known how these microbial-derived enzymes act in the human body. Enzyme secretion may be affected by variations in temperature, pH, and other extreme conditions faced by the bacterial cells in the human body. Besides, lactobacilli administration cannot itself be considered the only factor interfering with enzyme secretion, human diet (microbial substrate) being determinant in their metabolism. This review highlights the potential of lactobacilli to release functional enzymes associated with the digestive process and how this complex metabolism can be explored to contribute to the human diet. Enzymatic activity of lactobacilli is exerted in a strain-dependent manner, i.e., within the same lactobacilli species, there are different enzyme contents, leading to a large variety of enzymatic activities. Thus, we report current methods to select the most promising lactobacilli strains as sources of bioactive enzymes. Finally, a patent landscape and commercial products are described to provide the state of art of the transfer of knowledge from the scientific sphere to the industrial application.

复杂的碳水化合物、蛋白质和其他食物成分需要更长的消化过程才能被消化道内壁吸收。除了胃肠道的酶外，肠道微生物群包括多种细菌和真菌，对消化酶的产生具有互补作用。在这个“隐藏的士兵”的世界中，乳酸杆菌因其产生乳糖酶、蛋白酶、肽酶、果聚糖酶、淀粉酶、胆汁盐水解酶、植酸酶和酯酶的能力而受到广泛研究。已证明给予活的乳酸杆菌细胞可增加营养物质的消化率。然而，人们对这些微生物来源的酶如何在人体内起作用仍知之甚少。酶的分泌可能受温度、pH、以及人体内细菌细胞面临的其他极端条件。此外，乳酸杆菌给药本身不能被认为是干扰酶分泌的唯一因素，人类饮食（微生物底物）是其代谢的决定因素。这篇综述强调了乳酸杆菌释放与消化过程相关的功能性酶的潜力，以及如何探索这种复杂的代谢以促进人类饮食。乳酸杆菌的酶活性以菌株依赖性方式发挥，这篇综述强调了乳酸杆菌释放与消化过程相关的功能性酶的潜力，以及如何探索这种复杂的代谢以促进人类饮食。乳酸杆菌的酶活性以菌株依赖性方式发挥，这篇综述强调了乳酸杆菌释放与消化过程相关的功能性酶的潜力，以及如何探索这种复杂的代谢以促进人类饮食。乳酸杆菌的酶活性以菌株依赖性方式发挥，即，在相同的乳酸杆菌种内，酶的含量不同，导致酶活性的多样性。因此，我们报告了目前选择最有前途的乳酸杆菌菌株作为生物活性酶来源的方法。最后，描述了专利格局和商业产品，以提供从科学领域到工业应用的知识转移的最新技术。