In this study, 85 strains of lactic acid bacteria isolated from artisanal cheeses were screened to determine their capacity to synthesise bioactive compounds.Four Lactobacillus plantarum and two Lactobacillus casei subsp. casei strains were capable of synthesizing conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). The highest level of CLA formed in MRS after 48h incubation was 19.26µg/mL. Six Lactobacillus brevis and four Lactococcus lactis subp. lactis strains produced gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and the highest concentration (2524.05µg/mL) was found after 72h incubation.The detection of genes encoding linoleate isomerase or glutamate decarboxylase system could be suitable for use as screening method of CLA or GABA-producer strains, although this should be studied in a larger number of strains.Our findings suggest that the above strains are potential candidates for the design of starter cultures with the capacity to generate bioactive compounds, offering new possibilities for the manufacture of functional dairy products.