Abstract:

Abstract Most health benefits of fermented foods and beverage can be traced to Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB). In this study, the probiotic potential of LAB isolated from fermented carrot and beet root beverage, known as Kanji, was evaluated. The changes in physicochemical and microbial parameters were recorded during the course of fermentation (7 days). The prepared beverage showed pH 3.8, titrable acidity 2.78% and 4509-6752 ppm total dissolved solids. From the 130 isolates obtained on De Man Rogosa Sharpe agar, only 4 isolates were identified as potential probiotic strains. Three of these strains were identified as Lactobacillus brevis and one as Leuconostoc mesenteroides. All these strains showed absence of virulence factors and exhibited no antagonistic activity against E. coli (normal flora of intestine). Though multi-drug resistance was observed in all 4 strains, it may be intrinsic as detected commonly in LAB. They showed tolerance to 11% NaCl, 1% bile, pH up to 8 (for 3 h), temperature between 25°C to 40 °C and 0.6% phenol. Significant auto aggregation (64%-71%) and hydrophobicity (47%-76%) were also observed by these strains. Only one of the four LAB (MAP 29) produced exopolysaccharide and lipase enzyme. In addition, they also showed antimicrobial activity against enteropathogens and β-lactamase producing uropathogens with zones of inhibition ranging from 15 to 25 mm. They also possessed additional health attributes like cholesterol and oxalate degradation, antioxidation potential and the ability to utilize prebiotic inulin. Based on all these observations, the extraordinary potential of all LAB strains to be used as a probiotic is evident from this study.

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