AUTHOR=Nami Yousef , Vaseghi Bakhshayesh Reza , Mohammadzadeh Jalaly Hossein , Lotfi Hajie , Eslami Solat , Hejazi Mohammad Amin 

TITLE=Probiotic Properties of Enterococcus Isolated From Artisanal Dairy Products

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2019.00300

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2019.00300

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>The present study focused on probiotic characterization and safety evaluation of <italic>Enterococcus</italic> isolates from different artisanal dairy products. All the isolates exhibited inhibitory activity against several food spoilage bacteria and food-borne pathogens, including <italic>Shigella flexneri, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Yersinia enterocolitica, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli</italic>, and <italic>Bacillus subtilis</italic>. The PCR results indicated the presence of at least one enterocin structural gene in all the tested strains. The <italic>Enterococcus</italic> isolates were further evaluated regarding their safety properties and functional features. The isolates were susceptible to vancomycin, gentamycin, and chloramphenicol. The results of PCR amplification revealed that all the tested isolates harbored none of the tested virulence genes except <italic>E. faecalis</italic> (ES9), which showed the presence of <italic>esp</italic> gene. The <italic>Enterococcus</italic> isolates showed cholesterol lowering properties. The selected isolates showed a high tolerance to low pH, and toward bile salts. They also demonstrated hydrophobicity activity, auto-aggregation, and adhesion ability to the human intestinal Caco-2 cell line. These properties may contribute the bacteria colonizing the gut. This study revealed that the <italic>Enterococcus</italic> isolates, especially <italic>E. durans</italic> ES11, ES20 and ES32, might be excellent candidates for production of functional foods to promote health benefits.</p>