After E. durans LAB18s was grown in BHI broth, bacteria were harvested by centrifugation (10,000 g for 10 min at 4 C) and the assessment of bacterial resistance to bile salts was performed in 10 ml sterile BHI supplemented with a mixture of sodium cholate and sodium deoxycholate (Sigma) in a ratio of 1:1, achieving final concentrations of 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% (w/v).