Potential Probiotic Properties Of Lactobacillus Sp. Isolated From Traditional Kurdish Yogurt

Abstract

Lactic acid bacteria are a group of probiotic bacteria that are mostly predominant in fermented foods and have beneficial effects on human health. Traditionally made Kurdish yogurt as undiscoverable food may serve as an important source of these bacteria with potential probiotic properties. Therefore, the current study aimed to determine the probiotic properties of Lactobacillus spp. isolates from Kurdish yogurt using different microbiological tests. Results showed that the isolated Lactobacillus sp. can grow over a wide range of pH, NaCl concentration, and temperature. Moreover, they could overcome some pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumonia, Bacillus cereus, and Salmonella typhi more than the industrial control strain. While they were susceptible to different commercially used antibiotics, which may add advantages to the safety assessment of the isolates. These results indicate that the Lactobacillus sp. strains isolated from local Kurdish yogurt have good probiotic properties, which make them an acceptable strain to be used in the health sector and industry. It may also suggest that Kurdish yogurt is an effective food to fight infections and improve gastrointestinal health in humans. Finally, the current research will pave the way to further investigation in discovering other probiotic strains in Kurdish yogurt.

Keywords

• probiotic; lactic acid bacteria (lab); fermented foods; yogurt; mast; lactobacillus sp.