Abstract
Background: Under the present situations, where health improvement has become the major concern, food supplements, augmenting health is a matter of interest. Presently, the concept of "functional foods" possessing medicinal attributes has been reborn as probiotics. Acid-tolerant and Gram-positive Lactic acid bacteria (LAB), being the major class of probiotics, possess health-promoting characteristics, provide better health with a robust immune system, and treat various digestive and neurological disorders. Hence, the aim of the present study was the isolation and identification of LAB.
 Methodology: The LAB were isolated from various sources, including food products and clinical samples. Enterococcus faecium LCM08 being the most potent isolate tested for probiotic traits, including viability under acidic conditions, biological concentrations of bile salts and enzymes.
 Results: A total of fifty-four strains were isolated, of which 7.2% showed broad-spectrum inhibition against the tested pathogens. Amongst them, Enterococcus faecium LCM08 owing to its broad-spectrum antagonism, when tested for its ability to withstand acidic conditions, displayed 63.58% viability and 72.19% survivability in the presence of bile salts. Moreover, strain sustained in the presence of digestive enzymes including protease (94.65%), trypsin (93.57%) and pancreatin (75.0%) as well as exhibited growth at temperatures ranging between 25˚C and 30˚C where the maximum viable counts recorded as 95% and 96.4%. The strain also produced antimicrobial metabolites at neutral pH. However, elevated temperatures (45˚C-50˚C) inhibited the production of bacteriocin-like inhibitory substances.
 Conclusion: The preliminary investigations revealed that Enterococcus faecium LCM08 possesses the key attributes pre-requisite for a probiotic candidate.
Highlights
Nowadays, people are more concerned about the food they consume; preference is given to the nutritional ingredients rather than the flavour of the food products[1]
In 2002, World Health Organization (WHO)/ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defined probiotics as “live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amount confer health benefits[4]
Screening of Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) for bacteriocin like inhibitory substances (BLIS) Isolated LAB strains were screened for their antimicrobial potential against Gram-positive pathogens, including Staphylococcus aureus, Corynebacterium xerosis, Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus faecalis and Gram-negative pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Shigella dysenteriae, Klebsiella pneumonia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Summary
People are more concerned about the food they consume; preference is given to the nutritional ingredients rather than the flavour of the food products[1]. Functional food products containing probiotic bacteria are not less than 106 CFU/gm consumed to improve the intestinal microflora[2,3]. Acid-tolerant and Gram-positive Lactic acid bacteria (LAB), being the major class of probiotics, possess health-promoting characteristics, provide better health with a robust immune system, and treat various digestive and neurological disorders. Methodology: The LAB were isolated from various sources, including food products and clinical samples. Enterococcus faecium LCM08 being the most potent isolate tested for probiotic traits, including viability under acidic conditions, biological concentrations of bile salts and enzymes. Results: A total of fifty-four strains were isolated, of which 7.2% showed broad-spectrum inhibition against the tested pathogens. Enterococcus faecium LCM08 owing to its broad-spectrum antagonism, when tested for its ability to withstand acidic conditions, displayed 63.58% viability and 72.19% survivability in the presence of bile salts. Conclusion: The preliminary investigations revealed that Enterococcus faecium LCM08 possesses the key attributes pre-requisite for a probiotic candidate
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