Lactic acid bacteria were first discovered by Pasteur in 1857 while studying the deterioration of wine (wine) which turned sour. While the term Milchauerbacillus which is defined as an acid-producing rod-shaped bacterium that causes acidity in milk was put forward by Hueppe in 1884. Lactic acid bacteria, known as a group of bacteria that produce lactic acid as the main product of sugar metabolism, are also found in plants. One of the genus species that are familiar to us is Lactobacillus plantarum. The name plantarum is taken from the main source of this bacterium, namely from plants. Lactobacillus plantarum is commonly found in Indonesian fermented foods, including those made from milk. The PSPG UGM Probiotic Research Team also has a Lactobacillus plantarum strain as a probiotic agent, both isolated from fermented milk (curd) and fermented vegetable ingredients. This bacterium is also a lactic acid bacterium that is commonly found in the intestines of Indonesians, both adults and children, both living in Yogyakarta, Bali, Lombok, and Samosir, based on the results of research from the PSPG UGM gut microbiota research team.
Gut microbiota as a relatively new science has extraordinary developments. Based on research conducted by Nakayama, et al. (2015), there are two enterotypes (bacteria) in school-age children in Asia, namely Bifidobacterium/Bacteroides enterotype for Japanese, Taiwanese and Chinese children; and Prevotella enterotype for Indonesian and Thai children. Differences in enterotype in various countries are caused by differences in diet. This is also in line with research conducted by the UGM PSPG Team that for adults in Yogyakarta and Bali (Indonesia) have the Prevotella enterotype. While the results showed that the species of lactic acid bacteria with the highest prevalence was Lactobacillus plantarum. This type of lactic acid bacteria is commonly found in traditional Indonesian fermented foods.
It is suspected that there is a close relationship between the dominance and high prevalence of L. plantarum in traditional fermented foods and the gut microbiota for Indonesians. This prompted a review/research to further prove whether the L. plantarum bacteria is suitable for Indonesians.
The effect of consumption of indigenous probiotics in powder form by healthy school children has been studied in several regions, namely Yogyakarta, Samosir, and also Lombok. The results showed that consumption within 1 month by healthy junior high school students had not resulted in significant changes in the gut microbiota (Fitrianingthias, et al. 2018). Meanwhile, for results that lead to improvement of gut microbiota, consumption is carried out for 2 months by malnourished elementary school children in Lombok. Based on the results obtained, the probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum has the potential to be developed in terms of suitability with the Indonesian gut microbiota.
However, based on the latest publication (2020), there has been a major revision of the taxonomy of Lactobacillus or rod-shaped lactic acid bacteria. The genus Lactobacillus has been rearranged its taxonomy based on its various characters, not only phenotypic and genotypic, but also ecological. So, here comes the new name for Lactobacillus plantarum, namely Lactiplantibacillus plantarum. Bacteria that cause sour milk, found in many vegetable materials (plants), are rod-shaped. I guess that’s the reason given this new name.
