Probiotic properties of lactobacilli strains isolated from raw cow milk in the western highlands of Cameroon

Abstract

The objective of this study was to characterize probiotic Lactobacillus sp isolated from raw cow milk focusing on their safety, antimicrobial, and cholesterol-lowering properties. A total of one hundred and seven colonies of lactobacilli isolated from thirty-two samples of raw cow milk were screened for their probiotic use. 15 isolates of lactobacilli were selected for acid and bile tolerance. Almost all the acid and bile tolerant isolates of lactobacilli were sensitive to eight of the nine antibiotics tested. None of the assayed strains showed hemolytic and gelatinase activity. In addition, isolate 29V showed strong antimicrobial activities against the used indicator pathogens. All isolates expressed bile salt hydrolase activity and had ability to assimilate cholesterol in vitro. The 15 selected isolates were identify to species level as Lactobacillus plantarum using API 50CH Kits. Random amplified polymorphic DNA polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) was carried out to discriminate between three new best probiotic strains of Lactobacillus plantarum. According to these results, the Lactobacillus strains associated with dominant microflora that people from Mbororo’s tribe in the western highlands of Cameroon use to manufacture fermented milk contain new potentially
probiotic strains with antimicrobial and cholesterol-lowering properties.