Lactobacillus curvatus CECT 904 and Lactobacillus sake CECT 4808 were selected on the basis of their proteolytic activities against synthetic substrates. Further, the effects of whole cells, cell extracts, and a combination of both enzymatic sources on muscle sarcoplasmic proteins were determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography analyses. Strains of both species displayed proteinase activities on five sarcoplasmic proteins. The inoculation of whole cells caused a degradation of peptides, whereas the addition of cell extracts resulted in the generation of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic peptides. This phenomenon was remarkably more pronounced when L. curvatus was involved. Whole cells also consumed a great amount of free amino acids, while the addition of intracellular enzymes contributed to their generation. L. sake accounted for a greater release of free amino acids. In general, cell viability and also proteolytic events were promoted when cell suspensions were provided with cell extracts as an extra source of enzymes.grant ALI98-0890 from CICYT (Spain)