Probiotic Potential of Selected Lactic Acid Bacteria Strains Isolated from Brazilian Kefir Grains

A total of 34 lactic acid bacteria isolates from 4 different Brazilian kefir grains were identified and characterized among a group of 150 isolates, using the ability to tolerate acidic pH and resistance to bile salts as restrictive criteria for probiotic potential. All isolates were identified by amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis and 16S rDNA sequencing of representative amplicons. Eighteen isolates belonged to the species Leuconostoc mesenteroides, 11 to Lactococcus lactis (of which 8 belonged to subspecies cremoris and 3 to subspecies lactis), and 5 to Lactobacillus paracasei. To exclude replicates, a molecular typing analysis was performed by combining repetitive extragenic palindromic-PCR and random amplification of polymorphic DNA techniques. Considering a threshold of 90% similarity, 32 different strains were considered. All strains showed some antagonistic activity against 4 model food pathogens. In addition, 3 Lc. lactis strains and 1 Lb. paracasei produced bacteriocin-like inhibitory substances against at least 2 indicator organisms. Moreover, 1 Lc. lactis and 2 Lb. paracasei presented good total antioxidative activity. None of these strains showed undesirable enzymatic or hemolytic activities, while proving susceptible or intrinsically resistant to a series of clinically relevant antibiotics. The Lb. paracasei strain MRS59 showed a level of adhesion to human Caco-2 epithelial cells comparable with that observed for Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG. Taken together, these properties allow the MRS59 strain to be considered a promising probiotic candidate.