Exopolysaccharide producing lactic acid bacterial (LAB) were tested in vitro to select a candidate
Probiotic strain by testing their tolerance to low pH and bile, bile salt hydrolase (BSH) activity, antibiotics susceptibility pattern and antimicrobial activity. Results indi-cated hat LAB isolates were highly sensitive against oxbile (0.3%) but could grow in the presence of sodium taurocholate (0.3%). Seven out of 9 isolates were found to be BSH positive. Two of the isolates, Lactobacillus plantarum 86 and Weissella cibaria 92 showed considerable antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens.
The study reveals that traditional fermented products of India could be an alternative and readily available resource for LAB starter cultures with interesting functional character-istics.