RESUMO
Probiotics are defined as live organisms that are able to confer health benefits to the host by improving their intestinal microbial balance. In the last decade, there has been an increasing interest to reveal health benefits associated with them. The objective of this study was to isolate indigenous probiotic organisms and assess their probiotic activity and therapeutic characteristics. The isolates were identified as Lactobacillus fermentum (isolates 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9), Lactobacillus salivarius (isolate 13), and Lactobacillus plantarum (isolates 32 and 36). Five isolates showed growth at pH 2.5, while all isolates could grow at pH 8.5. All isolates showed good growth upto 5% NaCl concentration while two isolates showed growth in 7% NaCl concentration. All the isolates were susceptible to most of the broad-spectrum antibiotics. Cell-free suspensions from the isolates showed antimicrobial activity against the tested strains of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, and Staphylococcus aureus. Two of the isolates 32 and 36 showed good revival after long-term storage, without any change in the morphology. Hence among all the other isolates these two isolates could have a good marketable potential. These strains can further be formulated into a probiotic drink that can be used as a health supplement.