ANTIBIOSIS OF BACTERIOCINS WITH DOMESTIC LACTOBACILLI ISOLATED FROM PREPARED CURD

Abstract

The antimicrobial activity of lactobacilli has been widely exploited for prevention of food-borne pathogens, food spoilage organisms, biotherapeutic agents and as probiotics. The present study tests antibiosis of lactobacilli isolated from domestically prepared curd because of bacteriocin activity against selected opportunistic pathogens, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Of the seven strains isolated from curd samples, three were identified to be lactobacilli; of which, two were found to have antibiosis against E. coli and Ps. aeruginosa. As E. coli and lactobacilli co-exist in the human intestines, with E. coli being the major cause of traveller's diarrhoea; and E. coli and Ps. aeruginosa also being the most common contaminants of water - proper utilization of the antimicrobial properties of lactobacilli isolated from curd, a very less expensive dairy food product. Thus, this could have a positive impact on the commercialisation of the use of curd as a low-cost probiotic or bacteriotherapeutic agent as a potential alternative to the established commercially available probiotics.