Exploration and Understanding of Beneficial Properties of Lactic Acid Bacteria: 10 years of experience in Applied Food Biotechnology

The scientific community is currently facing a more than exponential increase of knowledge in all areas and disciplines. In the last 10years, the contribution of the journal Applied Food Biotechnologywas eminent in distributing that knowledge by providing a tribune for researchers from different countries all over the world to share their ideas, observations, and hypotheses. With a focus on different aspects of applied and fundamental biological sciences, the journal Applied Food Biotechnologywas established as a reference of the Iranian scientific community. In the last 10years, the journal has been covering several topics related to exploring the beneficial properties of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and their role in modern food technologies. LAB are already proven as a realization of Hippocrates' vision for the potential role of food in human and other animals' health. However, what will be the next frontier? What are the challenges in understanding the interactions between microbiota and host microorganisms? What will be the novel analytical tools, facilitating a new era of probiotic research? These were only a few research topics presented and discussed in Applied Food Biotechnologyin the last decade. This editorial overview aims to celebrate the scientific contribution of Applied Food Biotechnologyin the area of research associated with the beneficial properties of LAB, summarizing some of the studies published in the journal.