Screening Lactobacillus strains from artisanal Turkish goatskin casing Tulum cheeses produced by nomads via molecular and in vitro probiotic characteristics.

Background: Eleven Lactobacillus (L.) strains were newly isolated from traditional Turkish Tulum cheeses and were characterized regarding their potential probiotic characteristics (bile and acid tolerance, gastric and pancreatic juice tolerance, lysozyme tolerance, adhesion ability), virulence determinants (hemolytic activity, antibiotic resistance, biogenic amine production), and functional properties (antibacterial activity, β-galactosidase activity, production of exopolysaccharides, cholesterol removal).

Results: These isolates were identified as L. brevis, L. plantarum, L. paracasei, L. coryniformis, L. rhamnosus and L. helveticus by 16S rRNA sequencing. With regard to safety aspects, none of the tested Lactobacillus isolates showed hemolytic activity or biogenic amine production. All the Lactobacillus isolates except isolate 24 were found to be sensitive or intermediate sensitive to penicillin, which is a frequently used antibiotic. Nine Lactobacillus isolates showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, while only isolates 15 and 449 exhibited inhibitory activity against Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 7644. All isolated strains survived, even in the presence of 10.00 g L bile after 48 h, and exhibited good survival at pH 3, but only two isolates survived at pH 2. Among the strains, isolate 15 exhibited satisfactory auto-aggregative, cell-surface hydrophobicity features, cholesterol-lowering activity and good acid tolerance. Isolate 15 also showed the strongest bile and simulated pancreatic juice resistance and moderate lysozyme tolerance.

Conclusion: These outcomes suggest that isolate 15, identified as a L. plantarum strain from Tulum cheese, may be a promising probiotic candidate and could be suitable for use in several fermented foods. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.