Background: Probiotics are a live microbial supplement which improves hosts health by maintaining intestinal microbiota. Lactic acid bacteria strains have been extensively used as probiotics. The health benefits it provides are prevention of gastrointestinal problems, improving host immunity, reducing blood cholesterol level, lowering blood pressure, suppressing pathogenic microorganisms etc. This evidence suggests that probiotics can be used as a therapeutic strategy to improve overall digestive health.

Method: The aim of the present study was to isolate lactic acid bacteria with probiotic potential from food samples. Probiotic properties such as tolerance to low pH, bile, sodium chloride, lysozyme, antibiotic susceptibility, cell surface hydrophobicity and antimicrobial activity were determined.

Results: Ten different isolates were examined to study their probiotic potential. In this study, Lactobacillus brevis was isolated, it showed most of the probiotic properties like 10% sodium chloride tolerance, 1% bile tolerance, growth in pH 2 and antimicrobial activity against E. coli, S. aureus, K. pneumoniae, and P. aeruginosa. Formation of biofilm by Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was also inhibited by cell free extracts of L. brevis which reveals its therapeutic relevance. Also, it was found to be stable at low temperature (4°C).

Conclusion: Based on the above-mentioned results of L. brevis it suggests that it has promising potential to be considered as ‘Probiotic’. Further in vivo assessments could be carried out which will provide its dual role of prevention as well as use in therapy.