Adsorption Characterization of Lactobacillus sp. for Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate.

Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is the widely detected plasticizer in foods whose exposure is associated with a myriad of human disorders. The present study focused on identifying Lactobacillus strains with high adsorption potential towards DEHP and further elucidating the mechanism of binding using HPLC, FTIR and SEM. Two strains, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Lactobacillus plantarum MTCC 25,433, were found to rapidly adsorb more than 85% of DEHP in 2 h. Binding potential remained unaffected by heat treatment. Moreover, acid pre-treatment enhanced the DEHP adsorption. Chemical pre-treatments, such as NaIO4, pronase E or lipase, caused reduction in DEHP adsorption to 46% (LGG), 49% (MTCC 25,433) and 62% (MTCC 25,433), respectively, attributing it to cell wall polysaccharides, proteins and lipids. This was also corroborated by stretching vibrations of C = O, N-H, C-N and C-O functional groups. Furthermore, SDS and urea pre-treatment, demonstrated the crucial role of hydrophobic interactions in DEHP adsorption. The extracted peptidoglycan from LGG and MTCC 25,433 adsorbed 45% and 68% of DEHP, respectively, revealing the imperative role of peptidoglycan and its integrity in DEHP adsorption. These findings indicated that DEHP removal was based on physico-chemical adsorption and cell wall proteins, polysaccharides or peptidoglycan played a primary role in its adsorption. Owing to the high binding efficiency, L. rhamnosus GG and L. plantarum MTCC 25,433 were considered to be a potential detoxification strategy to mitigate the risk associated with the consumption of DEHP-contaminated foods.

Ameliorative potential of synbiotic combination of Lactobacillus sp. and polyphenols against Benzo[a]pyrene-induced toxicity in Caco-2 cell line.

Exposure to benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), a major global food safety concern, is often associated with increasing incidence of colorectal cancers. This in-vitro study was focused on the identification of potential B[a]P-adsorbing Lactobacillus strains and evaluation of the ameliorative effect of synbiotic combination of selected Lactobacillus sp. and polyphenols (quercetin or resveratrol) against B[a]P-induced intestinal toxicity in Caco-2 cells. Preliminary studies lead to the selection of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum MTCC 25433 strain that showed 86% of B[a]P adsorption in 2 h as compared to L. rhamnosus GG that showed 74% of B[a]P adsorption. B[a]P adsorption by MTCC 25433 was reduced to 9%, 16% and 20% upon pre-treatment with SDS, NaIO4 and mutanolysin, attributing the involvement of cell wall proteins and polysaccharides in the adsorption. Additionally, peptidoglycan of both strains adsorbed >50% of B[a]P. In-vitro assays revealed that the selected LAB mitigated the B[a]P-induced epithelial cell damage. Among the polyphenols, quercetin, resveratrol and curcumin, varied in their potency to mitigate B[a]P-induced oxidative stress, with curcumin being least effective. Combinations of selected Lactobacillus sp. and polyphenols were more potent in averting B[a]P-induced toxicity via increase in GSH (17-30 %), SOD (50-88 %), catalase (19-45 %), and reduction in IL-8 secretion (14-28 %) and barrier dysfunction. Principal component analysis affirmed the superior potency of combination of L. plantarum MTCC 25433 and quercetin in averting B[a]P-induced toxicity. Overall, this study highlighted a novel promising strategy of synbiotic combination of Lactobacillus sp. and polyphenols (quercetin or resveratrol) in alleviating the B[a]P-induced toxicity in intestinal epithelial cells.

Prevalence of antibiotic resistance in lactic acid bacteria isolated from traditional fermented Indian food products.

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in lactic acid bacteria (LAB) raises questions on qualified presumptive safety status and poses challenge of AMR transmission in food milieu. This study focuses on isolation, identification and characterization of AMR in LAB prevalent in traditional fermented Indian food products. The analysis of 16SrRNA based phylogenetic tree showed placements of isolates among four different genera Lactobacillus, Enterococcus, Weissella and Leuconostoc. In E-strip gradient test of susceptibility to 14 different antibiotics, over 50% of isolates showed resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, kanamycin, linezolid, streptomycin, trimethoprim and vancomycin. A multivariate principal component analysis, an antibiogram and multiple antibiotic resistance index-values (> 0.2) indicated presence of multidrug-resistance among the isolates. This study reports prevalence of an alarmingly high rate of AMR LAB strains in traditional fermented foods and is important to regulators and public health authorities for developing strategies to control transmission in food systems. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10068-023-01305-1.

Complete genome sequence of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum BBC32B isolated from human feces sample.

We report complete genome sequence of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum BBC32B, which was isolated from human feces sample and submitted to Microbial-Type Culture Collection (MTCC), India with deposition number MTCC 25432. The bacteria from Lactobacillaceae family contained 3,411,152 bp; 3,425 protein coding genes, sharing 69.67% average nucleotide identity with closest species of Lactobacillus brevis ATCC367.

Characterization and Transferability of erm and tet Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Lactobacillus spp. Isolated from Traditional Fermented Milk.

Lactobacillus is a widely used bacteria and consumed through various fermented foods and beverages. Strains have been shown to carry resistance genes and mobile genetic elements with their ability to transfer the resistance to sensitive pathogenic strains. To study this, 4 cultures of Lactobacillus were isolated from traditional fermented milk. The isolates were able to grow up to 4% (w/v) NaCl concentration and 45 °C temperature, and showed > 97% 16S rRNA gene similarities with Lactobacillus fermentum. All the isolates were phenotypically screened for the presence of antibiotic resistance. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) as microbiological breakpoints were observed against a varied class of antibiotics. Isolates AKO 94.6, DVM 95.7, and NIFTEM 95.8 were explicitly resistant to ampicillin, ciprofloxacin and vancomycin with MIC well beyond the maximum range of 256 µg/ml in the E-strip test. While isolate SKL1 was sensitive to ampicillin and showed MIC at 0.25 µg/ml but resistant to streptomycin and trimethoprim (MIC > 256 µg/ml). Molecular characterization showed the presence of tet(M) gene in three isolates SKL1, DVM 95.7, and NIFTEM 95.8 which was chromosomally associated resistance determinants while erm(B) resistance gene was detected in isolates DVM 95.7 and NIFTEM 95.8 only which was a plasmid associated gene and could be transferrable conjugally. Gene for Tn916 family (xis) was also observed in isolates DVM 95.7 and NIFTEM 95.8. Transferability of antibiotic resistance to pathogenic recipient strains was examined in isolates DVM 95.7 and NIFTEM 95.8 in different food matrices. The highest conjugation frequency with ~ 10-1 was obtained in alfalfa seed sprouts. This study reports the presence of acquired gene resistance in Lactobacillus species and dissemination to susceptible strains of bacteria in different food matrices. 16S rRNA gene sequences of isolates were uploaded to the NCBI GenBank database to retrieve the accession number.

Riboswitch-mediated regulation of riboflavin biosynthesis genes in prokaryotes.

Prokaryotic organisms frequently use riboswitches to quantify intracellular metabolite concentration via high-affinity metabolite receptors. Riboswitches possess a metabolite-sensing system that controls gene regulation in a cis-acting fashion at the initiation of transcriptional/translational level by binding with a specific metabolite and controlling various biochemical pathways. Riboswitch binds with flavin mononucleotide (FMN), a phosphorylated form of riboflavin and controls gene expression involved in riboflavin biosynthesis and transport pathway. The first step of the riboflavin biosynthesis pathway is initiated by the conversion of guanine nucleotide triphosphate (GTP), which is an intermediate of the purine biosynthesis pathway. An alternative pentose phosphate pathway of riboflavin biosynthesis includes the enzymatic conversion of ribulose-5-phosphate into 3, 4 dihydroxy-2-butanone-4-phosphates by DHBP synthase. The product of ribAB interferes with both GTP cyclohydrolase II as well as DHBP synthase activities, which catalyze the cleavage of GTP and converts DHBP Ribu5P in the initial steps of both riboflavin biosynthesis branches. Riboswitches are located in the 5' untranslated region (5' UTR) of messenger RNAs and contain an aptamer domain (highly conserved in sequence) where metabolite binding leads to a conformational change in an aptamer domain, which modulate the regulation of gene expression located on bacterial mRNA. In this review, we focus on how riboswitch regulates the riboflavin biosynthesis pathway in Bacillus subtilis and Lactobacillus plantarum.

Gluten-free grains: Importance, processing and its effect on quality of gluten-free products.

Gluten-enteropathy affects a significant number of people, making gluten a major concern in the food industry. With medical advancements, the diagnosis of allergies is becoming easier, and people who are allergic to gluten are recommended a complete gluten-free diet. Since wheat provides a major part of the energy and nutrition in the diet, its elimination affects nutrition intake of allergic population. Food scientists are working to formulate products using protein-rich gluten-free grains with quality attributes at par with gluten-containing products. Focused research has been done to provide nutrition and a variety of food to people suffering from gluten-related disorders. Efforts are being made to remove the gluten from the wheat and other gluten-containing grains, while applying different processing/treatments to enhance the properties of gluten-free grains. Hence, the present review summarizes the importance, processing, and products of different gluten-free grains. It also highlights the digestibility of gluten-free grains with clinical trials and gluten elimination strategies for gluten-containing grains.

Health benefits of polyphenols: A concise review.

Plants produce polyphenols, which are considered highly essential functional foods in our diet. They are classified into several groups according to their diverse chemical structures. Flavanoids, lignans, stilbenes, and phenolic acids are the four main families of polyphenols. Several in vivo and in vitro research have been conducted so far to evaluate their health consequences. Polyphenols serve a vital function in the protection of the organism from external stimuli and in eliminating reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are instigators of several illnesses. Polyphenols are present in tea, chocolate, fruits, and vegetables with the potential to positively influence human health. For instance, cocoa flavan-3-ols have been associated with a decreased risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, and diabetes. Polyphenols in the diet also help to improve lipid profiles, blood pressure, insulin resistance, and systemic inflammation. Quercetin, a flavonoid, and resveratrol, a stilbene, have been linked to improved cardiovascular health. Dietary polyphenols potential to elicit therapeutic effects might be attributed, at least in part, to a bidirectional association with the gut microbiome. This is because polyphenols are known to affect the gut microbiome composition in ways that lead to better human health. Specifically, the gut microbiome converts polyphenols into bioactive compounds that have therapeutic effects. In this review, the antioxidant, cytotoxicity, anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive, and anti-diabetic actions of polyphenols are described based on findings from in vivo and in vitro experimental trials. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The non-communicable diseases (NCDs) burden has been increasing worldwide due to the sedentary lifestyle and several other factors such as smoking, junk food, etc. Scientific literature evidence supports the use of plant-based food polyphenols as therapeutic agents that could help to alleviate NCD's burden. Thus, consuming polyphenolic compounds from natural sources could be an effective solution to mitigate NCDs concerns. It is also discussed how natural antioxidants from medicinal plants might help prevent or repair damage caused by free radicals, such as oxidative stress.

Persistent organic pollutants in foods, their interplay with gut microbiota and resultant toxicity.

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) have become immensely prevalent in the environment as a result of their unique chemical properties (persistent, semi-volatile and bioaccumulative nature). Their occurrence in the soil, water and subsequently in food has become a matter of concern. With food being one of the major sources of exposure, the detrimental impact of these chemicals on the gut microbiome is inevitable. The gut microbiome is considered as an important integrant for human health. It participates in various physiological, biochemical and immunological activities; thus, affects the metabolism and physiology of the host. A myriad of studies have corroborated an association between POP-induced gut microbial dysbiosis and prevalence of disorders. For instance, ingestion of polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers or organochlorine pesticides influenced bile acid metabolism via alteration of bile salt hydrolase activity of Lactobacillus, Clostridium or Bacteroides genus. At the same time, some chemicals such as DDE have the potential to elevate Proteobacteria and Firmicutes/Bacteriodetes ratio influencing their metabolic activity leading to enhanced short-chain fatty acid synthesis, ensuing obesity or a pre-diabetic state. This review highlights the impact of POPs exposure on the gut microbiota composition and metabolic activity, along with an account of its corresponding consequences on the host physiology. The critical role of gut microbiota in impeding the POPs excretion out of the body resulting in their prolonged exposure and consequently, enhanced degree of toxicity is also emphasized.

Nanoencapsulated curcumin emulsion utilizing milk cream as a potential vehicle by microfluidization: Bioaccessibility, cytotoxicity and physico-functional properties.

Curcumin loaded milk cream emulsion was microfluidized at different pressures (50-200 MPa) and passes (1-4) using a full-factorial experimental design. Ultrasonicated and microfluidized emulsion was evaluated for particle size, morphological characteristics, antioxidant activity, rheological properties, bioaccessibility and cytotoxicity. Significant reduction was observed in the average particle size (358.2 nm) after microfluidization at 100 MPa/2nd pass. Transmission electron micrographs of the control (homogenized) and microfluidized (100 MPa/2nd pass) samples showed uniform distribution of fat globules in the microfluidized sample with partially dissolved curcumin particles (50-150 nm). Encapsulation efficiency of microfluidized emulsion was found to be significantly higher (97.88%) after processing as compared to control (91.21%). Two-fold (100%) increase in the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity and 25% increase in ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) was observed for microfluidized emulsions over control. Infrared spectrums of the emulsion exhibited shift in high intensity peaks indicating bond cleavage after microfluidization. After characterization, emulsions were subjected to in vitro digestion (oral, gastric and intestinal phase) to evaluate its bioaccessibility which was found to be remarkably increased by 30% after microfluidization. For assessing processing induced safety of the formulation, in vitro cytotoxicity of the microfluidized nanocurcumin emulsion was evaluated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay on HepG2 cells, wherein high % of cell viability (>93%) was seen even at a dose as high as 900 µg/mL revealing no toxic effect of the processing technique (microfluidization). This study highlights the efficacy of microfluidization as a technique and that of milk cream as an inexpensive, yet potential vehicle for generating stable and bio-accessible nano-curcumin emulsion.

Conjugal Transfer of Antibiotic Resistances in Lactobacillus spp.

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are a heterogeneous group of bacteria which are Gram-positive, facultative anaerobes and non-motile, non-spore forming, with varied shapes from cocci to coccobacilli and bacilli. Lactobacillus is the largest and most widely used bacterial species amongst LAB in fermented foods and beverages. The genus is a common member of human gut microbiome. Several species are known to provide benefits to the human gut via synergistic interactions with the gut microbiome and their ability to survive the gut environment. This ability to confer positive health effects provide them a status of generally recognized as safe (GRAS) microorganisms. Due to their various beneficial characteristics, other factors such as their resistance acquisition were overlooked. Overuse of antibiotics has made certain bacteria develop resistance against these drugs. Antibiotic resistance was found to be acquired mainly through conjugation which is a type of lateral gene transfer. Several in vitro methods of conjugation have been discussed previously depending on their success to transfer resistance. In this review, we have addressed methods that are employed to study the transfer of resistance genes using the conjugation phenomenon in lactobacilli.

Characterization of Riboflavin-Producing Strains of Lactobacillus plantarum as Potential Probiotic Candidate through in vitro Assessment and Principal Component Analysis.

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are known for their probiotic properties, but only a few strains produce riboflavin. We evaluated the probiotic properties of four riboflavin-producing strains of Lactobacillus plantarum (BBC33, BBC32A, BIF43, and BBC32B) by using in vitro assessment and carried out multivariate principal component analysis (PCA) to select the best strain. Safety, antioxidant, and exopolysaccharide-producing properties were also studied. Lact. plantarum BBC33 showed better probiotic potential, followed by strain BIF43. Lact. plantarum BBC32A degraded mucin and excluded as a potential probiotic candidate. Lact. plantarum BIF43, BBC33, and BBC32A tolerated simulated gastrointestinal conditions and their overnight cell-free culture supernatants (CFSs, pH 4.0-4.3) inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli AF10, Salmonella Typhi MTCC98, Bacillus cereus NCDC250, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa NCDC105. Lact. plantarum BIF43 and BBC33 did not degrade mucin, adhered to human epithelial colorectal adenocarcinoma Caco-2 cells (22-25%), and aggregated with indicators (30-50%). Moreover, both were non-hemolytic and sensitive to most antibiotics tested. Of the two selected strains, BIF43 showed better exopolysaccharides (EPS) producing phenotype. The CFSs of all strains showed high (85-93%) 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity. PCA confirmed the results obtained from in vitro probiotic experiments and supported the selection of Lact. plantarum BIF33 and BBC43, as potential probiotics.

Wavelength-agile and radio-agile FiWi access network using dynamic scheduling to improve upstream delay and resource utilization.

Fiber wireless (FiWi) access network which is also referred as hybrid wireless optical broadband access network is one of the modern architecture to solve the problem of bandwidth availability and flexibility simultaneously. It integrates wireless frontend with optical backend. In FiWi network most of component remains idle for large duration, hence efficiency is very crucial. To improve energy efficiency in FiWi many multiple access (MA) techniques had been implemented at backend. However inclusion of multiple access techniques usually incur problem of delay, as data transfer in such network takes place only in the assigned slot of access technique. In this paper a novel architecture is proposed for FiWi which implements wavelength agile hybrid multiple access at backend and radio agile access technique at frontend. Further to improve delay performance, bandwidth availability and utilization of resources; a new scheduling approach is proposed for multiple access techniques implemented at frontend as well as backend. Delay performance, wavelength availability and load handling capacity of proposed approach is compared with different hybrid multiple access architecture. To best of our knowledge, wavelength agile and radio agile MA has been used for the first time in FiWi, moreover the proposed scheduling approach implemented on MA provide promising results in terms of delay and resource utilization. The performance of proposed work is also evaluated in terms of service and reservation delay component to indicate its utility in terms of actual information content per frame. The result shows effectiveness of proposed architecture over other existing architectures.

Can Probiotics Cure Inflammatory Bowel Diseases?

Gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, especially microbial dysbiosis play role in several GI ailments such as irritable bowel syndrome, colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel diseases, and antibiotic-associated diarrhoea. Role of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is multifactorial as it involves loss of maintaining intestinal epithelial barrier integrity, increased release of pro-inflammatory molecules, and microbial dysbiosis in gut microflora. Some specific pathogens also play a key role in the IBD development. The origin and causation are still in unfathomable condition and the exact root cause is unknown. Recently probiotic studies have been gaining importance because of their positive responses in their IBD experimental results. According to joint Food and Agricultural Organisation/World Health Organisation working group, probiotics are defined as live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amount confer health benefit on the host. These live beneficial microorganisms are considered helpful in improving gut colonization and perseverance thereby improves prophylactic effect. In the direction of IBD research, a number of studies are needed to standardize its methodology and its applicability on human usage. The particular review presents an overview of gut microflora and its impact on host health, types of IBD and existing therapies to treat this disorder, mechanism of several probiotic actions, role of probiotics in IBD prevention with their supporting evidences.

Probiotics as potential antioxidants: a systematic review.

Probiotics are known for their health beneficial effects and are established as dietary adjuncts. Probiotics have been known for many beneficial health effects. In this view, there is interest to find the potential probiotic strains that can exhibit antioxidant properties along with health benefits. In vitro and in vivo studies indicate that probiotics exhibit antioxidant potential. In this view, consumption of probiotics alone or foods supplemented with probiotics may reduce oxidative damage, free radical scavenging rate, and modification in activity of crucial antioxidative enzymes in human cells. Incorporation of probiotics in foods can provide a good strategy to supply dietary antioxidants, but more studies are needed to standardize methods and evaluate antioxidant properties of probiotics before they can be recommended for antioxidant potential. In this paper, the literature related to known antioxidant potential of probiotics and proposing future perspectives to conduct such studies has been reviewed.

Development of freeze dried synbiotic formulation using a probiotic strain of Lactobacillus plantarum.

Synbiotics offer potential in the prophylactic management of gastrointestinal disorders. Therefore, present study evaluates the effect of prebiotics (inulin and gum acacia) on Lactocaillus plantarum for developing a freeze-dried synbiotic product from the selected culture. L. plantarum exhibited the highest specific growth rate (0.23/h) in presence of inulin followed by gum acacia (0.22/h) and glucose (0.22/h). Preparation of the lyophilized synbiotic powder incorporating inulin or gum acacia and using non fat dry milk as base material was standardized. Throughout refrigerated storage for 90 days, viable counts (i. e. 8 to 9 log cfu/g) of the probiotic bacteria in the product remained high, while a considerable reduction in the counts was observed in the product stored at room temperature (25 ± 1 °C).

Epidemiology and microbiology of nosocomial pediatric candidemia at a northern Indian tertiary care hospital.

The availability and aggressive use of chemotherapeutic and immunosuppressive agents as well as broad-spectrum antibacterial agents have created a large population of patients who are at increased risk of acquiring infections with fungal organisms, especially Candida species. Present work was undertaken to study the epidemiology and microbiology of candidemia and Candida colonization in hospitalized children. A total of 323 suspected cases of septicemia were enrolled, of which blood culture from 7.4% subjects was positive for Candida species. In total, 57.3% subjects were colonized by Candida species at least at one of the tested sites. Of 337 isolates, 24.3, 71.5, 2.9, 0.59, and 0.59% were Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Candida krusei, Candida kefyr, and Candida lusitaniae, respectively. Antifungal susceptibility results show that fluconazole, itraconazole, and amphotericin B resistance is prevalent in 18.2, 2.4, and 3.6% of C. albicans isolates, and 21.1, 4.6, and 0.04% of C. tropicalis isolates, respectively. In a large number of cases, source of blood infection was patient's own colonizers, as shown by genetic matching. It was also noted that some strain types are circulating within the ward. High prevalence of non-albicans candidemia with high resistance to fluconazole is prevalent in North Indian hospitalized children.

Genetic diversity of Macrophomina phaseolina isolates from certain agro-climatic regions of India by using RAPD markers.

Genetic diversity analysis of Macrophomina phaseolina isolates obtained from different host range and diverse geographical locations in India was carried out using RAPD fingerprinting. Of the thirteen 10-mer random primers used, primer OPB-08 gave the maximum polymorphism and the UPGMA clustering could separate 50 isolates in to ten groups at more than 65% similarity level. The ten clusters correlated well with the geographical locations with exceptions for isolates obtained from Eastern and Western Ghats. There was a segregation of isolates from these two geographical locations in to two clusters thus, distributing 10 genotypes in to eight geographical locations. All the isolates M. phaseolina irrespective of their host and geographical origin, exhibited two representative monomorphic bands at 250 bp and 1 kb, presence of these bands suggests that isolates might have evolved from a common ancestor but due to geographical isolation fallowed by natural selection and genetic drift might have segregated in to subpopulations. Genetic similarity in the pathogenic population reflects the dispersal of single lineage in all locations in India.

Application of in vitro methods for selection of Lactobacillus casei strains as potential probiotics.

Probiotics have established their efficacy as dietary adjuncts providing benefits to consumers, but the selection of probiotics before incorporation in diet requires close scrutiny in the form of in vitro as well as in vivo tests. The present study was undertaken to check different in vitro characteristics of seven Lactobacillus casei strains. The characteristics studied include acid and bile tolerance, adhesion and cell surface hydrophobicity, antimicrobial effect on common pathogens and cholesterol reduction. All strains were able to resist pH 3 for 3 h, though resistance to pH 2 was exhibited by NCDC 17, C1 and Y strains only. NCDC 63 and VT strains were able to tolerate 1% and 2% bile concentrations for 12 h. There was wide variation in ability of strains to adhere to isolated rat epithelial cells. The index was highest for C1 at 66%. The electron microscopic adhesion studies on the stainless steel chips did not reveal any specific attachment to surfaces by any of strains. The hydrophobic character for octane was highest for strain C1 at 54.06% and lowest for strain C2 at 4.65%. The ability to antagonize common pathogens was observed in all strains but this activity was attributed to production of organic acids and no specific compound caused the inhibitory effect. The cholesterol reducing ability varied not only for strains but also for time of incubation. NCDC 17 showed maximum reduction in cholesterol level after 48 h of incubation with buffalo plasma as the source of cholesterol. Overall there existed variations in different strains with respect to different characters of significance to be a probiotic.