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The species of Lactic acid bacteria are known to confer beneficial effects on the host by inhabiting in their gastrointestinal tract (GIT). They succeed in surviving the harsh conditions of the GIT by exhibiting strong tolerance against gastric acids, digestive enzymes and bile simultaneously antagonizing the pathogens by production of antimicrobials. This study has been conducted to elaborate these probiotic characteristics in vivo for which mice were intragastrically given a probiotic approved dose of 1011cfu/ml for 4 days to assess the persistence of two probiotic candidates Lactobacillus plantarum Lp36 and Lactobacillus plantarum Lp86. The fecal count of the test probiotic candidates were seen to persist well in the GIT for 15 days with a count ranging between 104-108cfu/mg of feces (p>0.01). The safety assessment of L. plantarum Lp36 in healthy and S. typhi in infected mice showed an increase in cell count from (day zero of inoculation) 106cfu/100mg of feces to108cfu/100mg (p>0.01) which was maintained till day six, suggesting the persistence in the GIT. The sections of the mice intestinal lining under scanning electron microscope revealed the adherence of Lp36 and Lp86 to the intestinal epithelia. The mice did not show any adverse effect on its health. These findings make our strains promising probiotic candidates to be used to promote health benefits after further assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amylases are enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of starch into highly valuable products of economic significance. Amylases are used extensively in various industrial sectors. Microbial sources particularly Bacillus species are well known for the cost effective commercial production of amylase enzyme. Present study focuses on the enhancement of amylase enzyme production from an indigenously isolated Bacillus cereus AS2 strain via one variable at a time (OVAT) optimization of different physical and chemical factors. Purposely, eight parameters possibly affecting the amylase production including temperature, pH, incubation time, inoculum size, substrate concentration, metal ions, carbon and nitrogen sources were investigated. According to the results, amylase production was significantly boosted at maximum when the Bacillus cereus AS2 was grown at 45°C on pH 7.0 for 72 hours in the medium supplemented with 4% starch and 0.5% glycine. Among the different metal ions tested, CaCl2 (0.05%) was found significant to accelerate extracellular amylase production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five Lactobacillus strains isolated from vegetable and dairy products showed 99% similarity with Lactobacillus plantarum 1(Lp-1) using API –CHL 50 kit. Most of them proved to be sensitive to bacterial cell-wall inhibitors i.e. penicillin, ampicillin, amoxicillin and methicillin as studied by disc-diffusion method. These strains manifested profound tolerance to acidic-stress where Lp86 and Lp36 exhibited a good survival pattern at pH-2 for 4 hr retaining a survival count of 85% and 50%, respectively. A high survival of 85.7% was witnessed in Lp86 in presence of protease while Lp36 maintained 94.55% and 92.65% of population under the influence of enzyme pancreatin and pepsin. All the strains displayed marked tolerance against trypsin as the count did not drop below 77%. Absorbance and growth in terms of cfu/ml for bile-tolerance was examined for concentrations reflecting those in the GIT of humans, all the Lp-1 strains when grown with 1% bile showed a drop in the viable count by 1 log cycle i.e. from 1010 to 109cfu/ml. Fulfilling the above mentioned criteria these probiotic candidates displayed their capacity to reach the colon as viable metabolically active cells after successfully surviving under conditions similar to the gastrointestinal tract of humans. Upon examining the viability and stability of these probiotic candidates in most common foods serving as vehicle for probiotic delivery to the intestine, it was noticed that all the isolates tested sustained a probiotic approved number of 107 cfu/ml for effective function as recommended by WHO, after a maximum storage for one month. Hence, it could be justified that the selected probiotic candidates possess prominent probiotic potential. Therefore, L. plantarum 1 strains could prove to be an efficient probiotic after further in vivo studies to explore its safety in human subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An economical technique to obtain functional black gram flour was investigated, with reduced anti-nutritional factors, increased antioxidants, and improved technological properties. Black gram seeds were pre-gelatinized, and solid state fermentation conditions (inoculum size, incubation temperature, and incubation time) were optimized by central composite design. The strains of Lactobacillus sp. E14 and Saccharomyces cerevisiae MK-157 were selected on their ability to produce phytase enzyme and radical scavenging activity. The values of phytase and antioxidant activities predicted by the model correlated with the experimental values which showed the accuracy of the model. The fermentation of raw and gelatinized flour by S. cerevisiae MK-157 resulted in improved antioxidant (88.41%) and phytase activity (17.52 IU/mL), respectively in comparison to Lactobacillus sp. E14. Morphological and chemical structural analysis depicted the disruption of the substrate, depolymerization of starch and protein content, and presence of polyphenolic compounds. The elucidation of the flour through differential scanning calorimetry revealed the formation of hydrogen bonds in leached starch chains due to fermentation which altered the thermal behavior of starch. Therefore, this study provides an ideal approach to ferment raw and gelatinized black gram flour. • Sustainable and economical method of fermentation of black gram was developed. • Optimization of fermentation parameters by central composite design. • S. cerevisiae MK-157 increased antioxidant-88.41% and phytase activity-17.52 IU/mL. • FTIR revealed the presence of polyphenols and depolymerization of macromolecules. • Differential scanning calorimetry was used to investigate the thermal properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]