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Morphological, cultural, physiological and biochemical characteristics were employed to identify dominant Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolates from 39 dahi (indigenous dairy product) samples collected from different districts of eastern Nepal. The isolates comprised of predominately Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactococcus lactis subspecies cremoris, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis biovar diacetylactis and Leuconostoc mesenteroids subsp. mesenteroids. S. thermophilus were found consistently in most of the samples examined. In this study, 59.38% of Lactobacilli, 21% of Streptococci, 8.2 % Lactococci and 11.42 % Leuconostocs were isolated from indigenous dahi. This study revealed diversity of lactic acid bacteria in Nepalese milieu having immense potential in producing qualitative fermented milk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We used culture- and molecular-biology-based methods to investigate the diversity of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in the ethnic chevon (goat) meat products chartayshya, jamma and arjia of the Western Himalayas. In six chartayshya, six jamma and four arjia samples, LAB were the predominant microbial component involved in the fermentation of these samples, and the total LAB population in arjia (7.8 ± 0.1 log cfu g−1; mean ± SD) was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than in chartayshya (6.9 ± 0.1 log cfu g−1) and jamma (7.5 ± 0.1 log cfu g−1). We identified 53 LAB samples by 16S rRNA and phenylalanyl-tRNA synthase (pheS) genes sequencing. The LAB isolates were identified as Enterococcus durans, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, Enterococcus hirae, Leuconostoc citreum, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Pediococcus pentosaceus, and Weissella cibaria. These results revealed that there is a high level of diversity of LAB in the Himalayan ethnic preserved meat products. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Native microorganisms from some ethnic meat products of the Eastern Himalayas such as lang kargyong, yak kargyong, faak kargyong, lang satchu, yak satchu and suka ko masu were isolated and characterized. The bacterial isolates included Lactobacillus sake, Lactobacillus curvatus, Lactobacillus divergens, Lactobacillus carnis, Lactobacillus sanfrancisco, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus brevis, Enterococcus faecium, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Pediococcus pentosaceous, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus mycoides, Bacillus thuringiensis, Bacillus lentus and Bacillus licheniformis, Micrococcus and Staphylococcus. Yeast isolates included Debaryomyces hansenii, Debaryomyces polymorphus, Debaryomyces pseudopolymorphus, Pichia burtonii, Pichia anomala, Candida famata and the mould Rhizopus was also identified. Many of the LAB isolates demonstrated some antimicrobial activity, enzymatic activity and a few showed a high degree of hydrophobicity. None of the strains produced biogenic amines. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Selroti is an ethnic fermented rice food of the Himalayas. A total of 125 samples of selroti batters were collected from different villages and markets of the Himalayas. The microbial population of selroti batters showed that lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were present in viable numbers above 108 cfu/g, followed by yeasts at 105 cfu/g. LAB Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Enterococcus faecium, Pediococcus pentosaceus and Lactobacillus curvatus and yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces kluyveri, Debaryomyces hansenii, Pichia burtonii, and Zygosaccharomyces rouxii were identified. The most prevalent LAB and yeasts in selroti batters were Leuc. mesenteroids (42.9%) and S. cerevisiae (35.6%). Molds and pathogenic bacteria were not detected. It was observed that seasons affect the development and prevalence of microorganisms in the fermented batters. LAB and yeast strains were screened for their acidifying and coagulating capacity, and it was found that most of the LAB strains acidified with lowering of pH up to 4.3. These strains showed a wide spectrum of enzymatic profiles in commercial API-zym kits. All strains of LAB showed antimicrobial activities under the applied condition. The nutritional value of fermented batters was found to be increased. This is the first report on selroti concerning its microbiology and nutritional value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A total of 94 strains of Lactic acid bacteria (LAB), previously isolated from ethnic fermented vegetables and tender bamboo shoots of the Himalayas, were screened for functional properties such as acidification capacity, enzymatic activities, degradation of antinutritive factors and oligosaccharides, production of biogenic amines, hydrophobicity and adherence to mucus secreting HT29 MTX cells. Strong acidification and coagulation activities of LAB strains were recorded. Most of the LAB strains showed antimicrobial activities against the used indicator strains; however, only Lb. plantarum IB2 (BFE 948) isolated from inziangsang, a fermented leafy vegetable product, produced a bacteriocin against Staphylococcus aureus S1. LAB strains showed enzymatic activities and also degraded oligosaccharides. Almost all the strains of LAB were non-producers of biogenic amines except few strains. Some strains of Lb. plantarum showed more than 70% hydrophobicity. Adherence to the mucus secreting HT29 MTX cells was also shown by seven strains indicating their probiotic nature. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]