Lactic Acid Bacteria from Fresh Fruits and Vegetables as Biocontrol Agent of Foodborne Bacterial Pathogens

The presence of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in dairy products has long been established but the occurrence of the particular group of bacteria in fruits has rarely been focused. Therefore, different lactic acid bacteria generally found in fruits, cultivated in Pakistan were studied. Following the cul...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Syesa Anum Zehra
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Jinnah University for Women 2014-06-01
Series:RADS Journal of Biological Research & Applied Science
Online Access:http://jbas.juw.edu.pk/index.php/JBAS/article/view/9
Description
Summary:The presence of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in dairy products has long been established but the occurrence of the particular group of bacteria in fruits has rarely been focused. Therefore, different lactic acid bacteria generally found in fruits, cultivated in Pakistan were studied. Following the culture enrichment method randomly selected fruit samples were analyzed. About 12 different isolates of Lactobacillus spp. were obtained from 25 different fruits and vegetables. The identification was based on conventional morphological and biochemical analysis. Prior to all these manipulations the growth conditions were carefully optimized for the respective strains. This study evaluated the efficacy of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from fresh fruits and vegetables as biocontrol agents against the foodborne human bacterial pathogens (Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Proteus sp. and Pseudomonas aeruginosa). The antagonistic activity of LAB strains were tested in vitro and all tested microorganisms except few were inhibited by at least one isolate. Cell-free supernatants of selected antagonistic bacteria were studied to determine the nature of the antimicrobial compounds produced.
ISSN:2305-8722
2521-8573