L. plantarum 15HN displayed superior antagonistic activities against a vast variety of indicator pathogens (e.g., bacteria and fungi); other studies have reported restricted anti-pathogenic ac- tivities for this strain [58e62]. L. lactis subsp. Lactis 44Lac showed moderate anti-bacterial activities against S. marcesens, K. pneumoniae, E. coli and native E. coli only. Secretion of bacterio- cins (nisin) enables this strain to display anti-pathogen activity and be used as a food preservative