AUTHOR=Xu Xinxing , Luo Dongsheng , Bao Yejun , Liao Xiaojun , Wu Jihong 

TITLE=Characterization of Diversity and Probiotic Efficiency of the Autochthonous Lactic Acid Bacteria in the Fermentation of Selected Raw Fruit and Vegetable Juices

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02539

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2018.02539

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>The diversity of indigenous lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in fermented broccoli, cherry, ginger, white radish, and white-fleshed pitaya juices was analyzed using culture-independent and -dependent approaches. The major properties of selected probiotic strains, including dynamic variations in pH, viable cell counts, antibiotic resistance, bacterial adhesion to hydrophobic compounds, and survivability during simulated gastrointestinal transit, were investigated using broccoli as the fermentation substrate. In broccoli and ginger juices, the genus <italic>Lactobacillus</italic> occupied the dominant position (abundances of 79.0 and 30.3%, respectively); in cherry and radish juices, <italic>Weissella</italic> occupied the dominant position (abundances of 78.3 and 83.2%, respectively); and in pitaya juice, <italic>Streptococcus</italic> and <italic>Lactococcus</italic> occupied the dominant positions (52.2 and 37.0%, respectively). <italic>Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Weissella cibaria/soli/confusa, Enterococcus gallinarum/durans/hirae, Pediococcus pentosaceus, Bacillus coagulans</italic>, and <italic>Lactococcus garvieae/lactis</italic> subspecies were identified by partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing. In general, the selected autochthonous LAB isolates displayed no significant differences in comparison with commercial strains with regard to growth rates or acidification in fermented broccoli juice. Among all the isolates, <italic>L. mesenteroides</italic> B4-25 exhibited the highest antibiotic resistance profile (equal to that of <italic>L. plantarum</italic> CICC20265), and suitable adhesion properties (adhesion of 13.4 ± 5.2% ∼ 36.4 ± 3.2% and 21.6 ± 1.4% ∼ 69.6 ± 2.3% to ethyl acetate and xylene, respectively). Furthermore, <italic>P. pentosaceus</italic> Ca-4 and <italic>L. mesenteroides</italic> B-25 featured the highest survival rates (22.4 ± 2.6 and 21.2 ± 1.4%, respectively), after simulated gastrointestinal transit. These results indicated a high level of diversity among the autochthonous bacterial community in fermented fruit and vegetable juices, and demonstrated the potential of these candidate probiotics for applications in fermentation.</p>