Inoculated fermentation of green olives with potential probiotic Lactobacillus pentosus and Lactobacillus plantarum starter cultures isolated from industrially fermented olives

•Lactobacillus pentosus and Lactobacillus plantarum were assayed as starter cultures in olive fermentation.•Both strains were isolated from industrial brines and presented probiotic characteristics.•The two strains were able to colonize the surface of olives in high populations.•L. pentosus could be recovered in higher percentages than L. plantarum.•L. plantarum could not survive in 10% salt brines and when co-inoculated with L. pentosus.

The performance of two strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), namely Lactobacillus pentosus B281 and Lactobacillus plantarum B282, previously isolated from industrially fermented table olives and screened in vitro for probiotic potential, was investigated as starter cultures in Spanish style fermentation of cv. Halkidiki green olives. Fermentation was undertaken at room temperature in two different initial salt concentrations (8% and 10%, w/v, NaCl) in the brines. The strains were inoculated as single and combined cultures and the dynamics of their population on the surface of olives was monitored for a period of 114 days. The survival of inoculated strains on olives was determined using Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE). Both probiotic strains successfully colonized the olive surface at populations ranged from 6.0 to 7.0 log CFU/g throughout fermentation. PFGE analysis revealed that L. pentosus B281 presented higher colonization in both salt levels at the end of fermentation (81.2% and 93.3% in 8% and 10% NaCl brines, respectively). For L. plantarum B282 a high survival rate (83.3%) was observed in 8% NaCl brines, but in 10% NaCl the strain could not colonize the surface of olives. L. pentosus B281 also dominated over L. plantarum B282 in inoculated fermentations when the two strains were used as combined culture. The biochemical profile (pH, organic acids, volatile compounds) attained during fermentation and the sensory analysis of the final product indicated a typical lactic acid fermentation process of green olives.