Screening of Lactobacillus spp. from Buffalo Yoghurt for Probiotic and Antibacterial Activity

Since the beneficial effects of viable probiotic bacteria as dietary supplements have gained huge research interest, Lactobacillus spp. with probiotic characteristics are widely used to prepare fermented dairy products such as yoghurts, milk-shakes etc. In this study, eight (08) homemade yoghurt samples were collected from different regions in the country for isolation of probiotic Lactobacillus spp. Among the samples, four (04) isolates were identified as Lactobacillus plantarum based on their growth and biochemical characteristics. The Isolates were resistant to NaCl (1-9%) and bilesalt (0.05-0.3%) and showed good growth in the acidic condition, while maximum growth was observed at pH around 6.0. The isolates were examined for their antibacterial activity against nine (09) different test pathogens and found all pathogens are inhibited their growth to some extent but maximum zone of inhibition was observed against Bacillus cereus (53.20 mm) and minimum was against Staphylococcus aureus (19 mm) after 72 hour incubation. The results of the present study indicate that, homemade yoghurts in Bangladesh are potential source of probiotic Lactobacillus spp. Further extensive research on isolation and characterization of probiotic organisms from local fermented foods and their growth optimization might be required for development of probiotic enriched food supplements in our country.