Effect of Inorganic Salts on the Thermotolerance and Probiotic Properties of Lactobacilli Isolated from Curdled Milk Traditionally Produced in Mezam Division, Cameroon

Abstract

The industrial production of most food and probiotic products often requires processing involving high temperatures and physiological stress causing loss of viability of probiotic microbial strains. The viability and stability of probiotic strains is a key determinant of their efficacy during administration in human and animal. Thermotolerance is actually a very important feature for probiotic undergoing industrial processing. This paper aimed at assessing the effect of some mineral salts on the thermotolerance and the probiotic properties of lactobacilli isolated from curded milk produced in Mezam Division, Cameroon. Lactobacilli were isolated by pour plate method on de Man Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) agar. Lactobacilli were selected based on their ability to suppress in-vitro and in-vivo food borne pathogenic bacteria; Salmonella enterica serovar Enteridis and Esherichia coli . Inhibitory activities against these food borne pathogens were performed by disc diffusion method on Mueller Hinton agar. In-vivo inhibition of Salmonella was achieved using oral administration by gavage of (1.0 × 10 9 CFU/ml) of selected probiotic strain suspended in sterile water. Thermotolerance was assessed by measuring the survival rate of the strain after heating at various temperatures in the presence and absence of mineral salts. Resistance to bile was determined by measuring the survival rate of probiotics after incubation in the presence of oxgallbille and mineral salts. Two catalase negatives isolates were selected based on their capacity to exhibit inhibitory activities in-vitro and in-vivo against food borne pathogens. They were identified as strain of Lactobacillus casei (LS3) and Lactobacillus plantarum (LM4). These strains exhibited significant reduction (P < 0.05) in Salmonella count in caeca swabs of infected chick model. The calcium and magnesium salts increased significantly (P < 0.05) the thermo-tolerance and resistance to bile of probiotic strains studied. These results suggested that calcium and magnesium could be used to monitor the viability of probiotic strains in probiotic products.