Isolation and Identification of Dextran-Producing Weissella cibaria from Pickled Sauerkraut

Abstract

The presence of certain bacteria in food products are particularly desirable. Probiotic strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), which have a number of favorable characteristics, including antimicrobial properties that support the development of beneficial microflora, are among them. In addition, because of their biochemical activity, they have an impact on the dietary, nutritional, and organoleptic qualities of food products. Before being released into the market, each strain must undergo independent testing to ascertain its probiotic qualities and potency. The purpose of this study was to separate and identify the LAB strain (Weissella cibaria bacteria) at the molecular level from a sample of pickled Sauerkraut that might be employed in the dairy sector and maybe is regarded as a probiotic in the future. Directly from the can, the shredded picked sauerkraut was brined in 2.25% salt (NaCl) for 48 hours before being inoculated aseptically into deMan, Rogosa, and Sharpe agar (MRS) and incubated for two days at 37 °C. Gram’s reaction, catalase production, and sugar fermentation tests employing glucose, sucrose, maltose, lactose, and fructose were among the traditional assays performed on isolation. The sequence was acquired and checked against those in the GenBank database using the BLAST tool at the NCBI-GenBank database after the isolate was extracted using the AccuPrep Genomic DNA Extraction kit, amplified, and agarose gel electrophoresis. The isolated LAB strains were validated using SEM and a genetic PCR assay, and the matching rate of the two isolated strains was 99%. The obtained strains showed their ability to produce dextran by observing the viscous growth characteristic when they were grown in MRS medium supplemented with 15% sucrose. To identify the bacterium, many culture and biochemical tests were carried out. The overall study concluded that the strains of Weissella cibaria bacteria can be easily isolated from pickled Sauerkraut using the developed procedure with the possibility of using the dextran produced by the bacteria as a prebiotic in the food sector.