Characterization of probiotic properties and antimicrobial activity of lactic acid bacteria from stingless bee gut

Abstract

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are known as the major group of probiotics that possess different beneficial properties. Several studies had reported the isolation of LAB from stingless bees. However, the isolation of LAB specifically from stingless bee gut is still limited. The bee microbiome frequently hosts LAB which demonstrated beneficial effects such as reducing bacterial and parasite infections as well as increasing honey output in beehives. This study aimed to characterize the probiotic properties and antimicrobial activity of LAB from stingless bee gut. A total of five LAB strains were successfully isolated from three different species of stingless bee known as Heterotrigona itama (HIT), Geniotrigona thoracica (GTH), and Tetragonula laeviceps (TLA). All LAB isolates were assessed for in vitro probiotic activity such as acid tolerance, bile salt tolerance, tolerance to simulated gastric juice, surface hydrophobicity, and also their antimicrobial activity. The percentage viability for acid tolerance at pH 3 after one hour incubation for these LAB isolates is 98.81% from TLA 2 whereas for bile salt tolerance after four hours is 92.98% from TLA 3.