Antimicrobial Effects of Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Tibetan Yogurt against Foodborne Pathogenic Bacteria

Abstract

Yogurt is produced by bacterial fermentation of milk and contains lactic acid bacteria (LAB), which produce various metabolites such as organic acid, hydrogen peroxide, and bacteriocin. This study aimed to investigate cell-free supernatants (CFS) of LAB isolated from Tibetan yogurt. CFS (TY1, TY2, TY3, TY4, TY5, TY6, and TY7) from selected strains of LAB were co-incubated with four different foodborne pathogenic bacteria, namely E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella typhimurium, and Staphylococcus aureus. Inhibition of foodborne pathogenic bacterial growth was not affected in the presence of CFS (pH 6.5). In contrast, CFS without neutralization completely inhibited the growth of the bacteria. Furthermore, when the concentration of CFS (without neutralization) was changed to 1:4 and 1:8, a difference in inhibition was observed between Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. CFS more effectively inhibited the growth of Gram-negative E. coli O157:H7 and S. Typhimurium than Gram-positive L. monocytogenes and S. aureus. These results suggest that organic acids in LAB may inhibit the growth of foodborne pathogenic bacteria, particularly Gram-negative bacteria.