Department of Biotechnology
Head of department
Doctor of Science (Engineering)
Senior Researcher
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The field of activity of the department combines theoretical and applied research aiming at the determination of main trends in the biotechnology of fermenting cultures for the production of fermented food products and fodder for farm animals, scientific substantiation and solving urgent practical issues of the processing industry.
The main direction of the scientific activity of the department is the development of biotechnologies of fermentation cultures for the production of fermented dairy and meat products.
Specialists of the department developed the technologies of the first domestic fermentation cultures of direct application, of different microbial composition, form and functions:
- traditional fermented milk products - sour cream, sour milk cheese, kefir, ryazhanka, sour cream, sour cream butter, which provide a wide range of taste and aromatic nuances, different consistencies;
- modern special purpose products - products with increased biological activity using probiotic strains of bifidobacteria and lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Streptococcus thermophilus. These strains are not inferior to well-known probiotics in terms of their properties and are effective means for correcting the indigenous microflora of the human body; normalization of lipid metabolism, including cholesterol levels; reduction of allergic manifestations; have a detoxifying and immunostimulating effect. The effectiveness of the functional impact of these cultures and products made with their use has been confirmed by clinical trials;
- hard rennet cheeses with high and low temperature of the second heating. These leavening preparations ensure a stable ripening of cheeses, the formation of a characteristic taste bouquet and the appropriate pattern of the finished product. A protective bacterial preparation based on biologically active strains of lactic acid bacilli with high antagonistic activity against butyric acid bacteria was created for the production of hard rennet cheeses;
- raw-smoked and raw-dried products from pork, beef and poultry meat, which made it possible to expand the range of high-quality and safe products. The use of bacterial preparations shortens the ripening period of fermented products, ensures a high degree of sanitary-epidemiological safety of the finished product (absence of opportunistic, pathogenic microorganisms, low nitrite content) and guarantees the final product excellent consumer and sensorial characteristics.
Bacterial starter cultures have been developed for the improvement of fodder production technologies. Preparations have been created for the prevention of gastrointestinal diseases and increasing the productivity of young farm animals and poultry.
The department constantly conducts selection and search work to replenish the bank of industrial crops promising for use in biotechnology of fermented dairy and meat products and feed:
- isolation of probiotic strains from natural sources and study of their biological properties: antagonism in relation to pathogenic and industrially harmful microorganisms, adhesion to epithelium and mucous membranes of human and animal bodies, cholesterase activity;
- use of model systems and clinical trials to confirm the effectiveness of biological effects;
- study of nutritional needs and patterns of development of microorganisms in different nutrient environments; peculiarities of growth kinetics in monoculture and in bacterial composition;
- the impact of technological parameters on the development of mono- and multi-strain compositions for the creation of new technologies of fermentation cultures;
- research of different stabilizing systems to ensure the viability, number and activity of fermenting cultures during freeze-drying and storage.
The cultures collection of the department includes about 450 strains of lactic acid, propionic acid, bifidobacteria, staphylococci, cocci, yeast and kefir fungi. All cultures are natural and have not undergone any genetic modifications.
An important direction of the department's work is the study of the biology of bacteriophages of fermenting microorganisms, the sensitivity of industrial strains to bacteriophages. The department carries out systematic phage monitoring of milk processing enterprises of Ukraine, developed appropriate test systems for the detection of bacteriophages and recommendations for the prevention and elimination of phage infections. Screening of non-lysogenic and phage-resistant strains of industrial cultures of microorganisms is carried out; a collection of special indicator test cultures of various types of lactobacilli, highly sensitive to a wide range of bacteriophages, was created for phage monitoring of the production of fermentation cultures, fermented milk, meat and feed products and test cultures for determining inhibitory substances in milk.
Specialists of the department have developed a number of regulatory documents to control: fermentation microflora; foreign microflora of dairy products; foreign microflora of meat products.
Scientists of the department have developed:
- Instructions on the organization of production microbiological control at dairy enterprises. This is a comprehensive document that contains a wide range of standards and additional information necessary for the creation of internal microbiological control programs adapted to specific production conditions;
- Methodological recommendations for the determination of bacteriophages at milk processing enterprises, which provide the basic principles and procedure for phage monitoring of dairy raw materials, fermentation cultures, sour milk products, cheeses, dry tableted and other dairy products, equipment and air of production premises, methods of qualitative and quantitative determination are indicated bacteriophages;
- Methodological guidelines for the control of kefir microflora, which establish methods of researching the qualitative and quantitative composition of the microflora of kefir fungi, fungal kefir starter and kefir;
- Methodological recommendations for the selection and preliminary evaluation of probiotic strains of microorganisms for functional dairy products.
Scientists of the department carry out scientific advisory and practical work on microbiological control of fermentation cultures, dairy and meat products and phage monitoring.
Based on the results of the department's developments, 55 copyright certificates and patents for inventions were prepared, and more than 250 scientific papers were published.
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