Antibiotic Resistance of Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Cambodian Fish Paste Product

Abstract

Fish paste product is considered an important food in Cambodia. However, the status of antimicrobial susceptibility of microbes in this product are a concern. This study aimed to isolate lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from Cambodian fish paste and to investigate their resistant property of antibiotics. Fifteen LABs were isolated with cell forms of 14 as cocci and 1 as rods. Isolates of the bacteria were identified as Staphylococcus piscifermentans (14 strains) and Lactobacillus plantarum (1 strain). Using the disk diffusion method, the resistance was investigated of the 15 LAB isolate strains to eight clinically crucial antibiotics: penicillin (Pen), ampicillin (Amp), erythromycin (Ery), tetracycline (Tet), vancomycin (Van), streptomycin (Str), sulfamethoxazoletrimethoprim (Sul) and metronidazole (Met). It was found that all 15 LAB isolates were resistant to Met. One isolate strain was resistant to Pen, Amp, Tet, Str and Sul. Furthermore, 7 and 2 isolate strains were resistant to Tet and Van, respectively. All 15 isolate strains were sensitive to Str and Ery. The LAB isolate strains were sensitive to Pen, Amp, Sul (14 strains), Tet (6 strains) and Van (13 strains). These results showed that 14 of the LAB isolate strains were sensitive to 5 antibiotics (Pen, Amp, Ery, Str and Sul) and could be considered as strains for utilization as starter culture for fish fermentation. Additionally, these finding will be conduct to assess the antibiotic resistance incidences of LABs in Cambodian fermented foods.