Isolation of bacteriocin - producing lactic acid bacteria from 'Ugba' and 'Okpiye', two locally fermented nigerian food condiments

In this work, 100 samples each of 'ugba' and 'okpiye' were evaluated for the presence of bacteriocin producing lactic acid bacteria. Thirty strains showing antibacterial activity against at least one of the indicator organisms were selected from a total of 752 colonies isolated from the condiments. Out of the 30, only five strains retained activity after the pH of the broth supernatant was adjusted to 6.5. When evaluated by the agar-well diffusion assay, the spectra of inhibitory activity showed that Staphylococcus aureus was the most sensitive indicator organism tested, while Listeria monocytogenes was the most resistant. One strain (UG 2) was active against Escherichia coli. The assays using the cell-free supernatant of the cultures showed that the bacteriocins were completely inactivated by the proteolyses as well as by the chloroform treatment. In ethanol, the activity of the compounds was only partially modified. When incubated in a water bath at 80°C for 30 min, no significant activity loss was recorded. The antimicrobial activity of the bacteriocins produced by the lactic acid bacteria has potential for use in biopreservation of condiments against the spoilage and food - borne pathogens.