Food wastes as natural sources of lactic acid bacterial exopolysaccharides for the functional food industry: A review

Exopolysaccharides (EPSs) synthesized by lactic acid bacteria (LAB), have recently received much interest because of their various functional features in several industries. Food wastes (FWs) have become a major source of worry, as they can cause serious environmental contamination if improperly disposed. The utilization of these FWs is an excellent choice (approach) for producing value-added products such as EPSs, which will efficiently remediate wastes. The overall EPSs yield for the selected producers is strain-specific, and is heavily influenced by the nutritional and growing conditions used. This review emphasizes what is currently known about LAB's ability to generate economically relevant EPSs from FWs. In addition, a concise overview of the food industry, packaging, pharmaceutical and clinical applications application is discussed. •Review on the food wastes as low-cost raw material for EPS production from LAB.•Production of LAB-EPSs increases the bioeconomy and sustainability.•Enhancing LAB-EPSs production minimize their cost.•LAB-EPSs have biotechnological application in the field of food and drugs.