Bioactive compounds are synthesized by a number of microbial sources such as bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, microscopic algae etc. Some of them are associated with antibacterial properties while some with antimicrobial properties. Active bacteria were defined as bacteria capable of assimilating and reducing the redox dye CTC to red-fluorescent intracellular formazan deposits visible in an epifluorescence microscope.
Bioactive compounds may naturally be found in various foods. Most of the bioactive compounds have antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, antiinflammatory, and antimicrobial properties. Therefore, many epidemiologic studies report that some of them also have protective effects on cardiovascular diseases. Bacteria are classified into five groups according to their basic shapes: spherical (cocci), rod (bacilli), spiral (spirilla), comma (vibrios) or corkscrew (spirochaetes).


