African Journal of
Biotechnology

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Biotechnol.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1684-5315
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJB
  • Start Year: 2002
  • Published Articles: 12500

Full Length Research Paper

Evaluation of the probiotic potential of lactic acid bacteria isolated from faeces of breast-fed infants in Egypt

Rowaida Khalil1* Hoda Mahrous2, Khalil El-Halafawy2, Kamal Kamaly3, Josef Frank4 and Morsi El Soda5
1Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Egypt. 2Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute (GEBRI), Menofiya University, Egypt. 3Department of Dairy Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Menofiya University, Egypt 4Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA 5Department of Dairy Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University, Egypt.
Email: [email protected]

  •  Accepted: 16 January 2007
  •  Published: 02 April 2007

Abstract

The probiotic-related characteristics of 55 strains of lactic acid bacteria isolated from the faeces of 3 - 6 months old breast-fed infants were determined. The API 50 CH and SDS-PAGE techniques were employed to ascertain the identity of the isolated strains. The predominant species among the isolated strains were Lactobacillus (Lb.) acidophilus, Lb. plantarum, Enterococcus (E.) faecium, and E. faecalis. Probiotic properties such as bile resistance, acid tolerance, and adhesion to intestinal mucous were assessed. In vitro results obtained showed that five strains, Lb. plantarum (P1 and P164), Lb. pentosus (P191), and Lb. fermentum (P10, P193) were able to meet the basic requirements for probiotic functions as they demonstrated probiotic characteristics such astolerance to pH 3, growth in 0.4% oxgall and adhesion to intestinal mucous. The results obtained in this investigation will be used to select potentially probiotic strains for in vivo study.

 

Key words: Probiotics, lactic acid bacteria, bile resistance, acid tolerance, adhesion.

Copyright © 2025 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article.

This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

Back to Vol. 6 No. 7
Back to articles
  • Articles on Google by:
SUBSCRIBE TO RSS
SUBMIT MANUSCRIPT
CONFERENCES