Assessment of Antimicrobial Activity and Selected Safety Attributes of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and Pediococcus pentosaceus Isolates for Potential Probiotic Use

The aim of this study is to investigate the some probiotic properties of isolated and identified six LABs (three of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and three of Pediococcus pentosaceus) , including antibacterial potential against Salmonella Typhimurium (ATCC 14088), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC 700603), their tolerance to low pH, pancreatin and bile salts, cell surface hydrophobicity, autoaggregation as well as determining the antibiotic resistance. While L. plantarum I-2 and P. pentosaceus I-4 showed the highest and lowest resistance in the presence of pepsin and bile salt, respectively, P. pentosaceus I-1 and P. pentosaceus I-4 exhibited the highest and lowest resistance in the presence of pancreatin. Isolates P. pentosaceus I1, L. plantarum I-3, and L. plantarum I-5 formed highest antibacterial activity against P. aeruginosa, S. Typhimurium and E. fecalis. All isolates were susceptible to Amoxicillin–Clavulanic acid and were resistant to Kanamycin. Isolate L. plantarum I-5 (73%) and L. plantarum I-2 (33%) demonstrated the highest hydrophobicity ratio after 24 hours in the presence of chloroform and n-hexane, respectively. The highest and lowest autoaggregation was observed in L. plantarum I-3 (21%) and P. pentosaceus I-4 (2.5%). In conclusion, P. pentosaceus I1, L. plantarum I-2, L. plantarum I-3, and L. plantarum I-5 had desirable in vitro probiotic properties and strong inhibitory activity against the tested pathogens, and they appear to be promising candidates for probiotic bacteria to be used in the food industry.