IN VITRO CHARACTERIZATION OF LACTIC ACID BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM LASODA BARI- A RARE FERMENTED FOOD OF HIMACHAL PRADESH-INDIA FOR POTENTIAL PROBIOTIC ATTRIBUTES

Abstract

Probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are health promoting microorganisms which are recently been used as food additives and therapeutic supplements. Recently, there has been an increase of interest regarding the commercial utilization of probiotic LAB strains isolated from traditional and naturally fermented food products. Therefore, the present study was aimed to isolate and screen lactic acid bacteria from Lasoda bari – a rare fermented food of Himachal Pradesh, for the first time for their probiotic potential. Total eight isolates were obtained out of which one isolate was selected based on its broadest antagonistic spectrum. This strain was identified using 16S rRNA technique as Pediococcus pentosaceus LB-CC. The analysis of acid resistance, bile tolerance, antibiotic sensitivity, auto-aggregation and microbial adhesion to organic solvents were established. The results revealed normal growth of P. pentosaceus LB-CC in the presence of low pH, high bile salt concentration and ability to produce antimicrobial compounds. No gelatinase and DNase enzyme activity was detected. Natural susceptibility to the tested antibiotics was observed. Thus, according to these results, this probiotic strain could be proposed as safe potential probiotic culture and can be exploited for the production of nutraceutical agents.