Fungal contamination of food, which causes large economic losses and public health problems, is a global concern. Chemical methods are typically used in the food industry to inhibit the growth of spoilage fungus, but there are several drawbacks of chemical methods. Thus, the development of consumer-friendly and ecologically sustainable biological preservation technology has become a hot spot in food research. As a natural biological control agent, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) is a good choice in food preservation due to its antifungal properties. In order to screen and identify new antifungal LAB and antifungal compounds, this review compares three screening methods (overlay method, agar diffusion method, and microplate inhibition method) of antifungal LAB and summarizes the separation and purification techniques of antifungal compounds. A discussion of the effects of LAB, media, temperature, pH, and incubation period on the antifungal activity of LAB to highlight the antifungal properties of LAB for future studies then follows. Additionally, the antifungal mechanism of LAB is elucidated from three aspects: 1) LAB cells, 2) antifungal compounds, and 3) co-cultivation. Finally, research regarding antifungal LAB in food preservation (fruits, vegetables, grain cereals, bakery products, and dairy products) is summarized, which demonstrates the potential application value of LAB in food.
Keywords: Lactic acid bacteria; antifungal activity; antifungal mechanism; screening method; separation and purification.