Probiotic potential of thermotolerant lactic acid bacteria strains isolated from cooked meat products

Ten thermotolerant lactic acid bacteria Pediococcus pentosaceus (4 strains), Lactobacillus plantarum (3 strains), Enterococcus faecium (2 strains) and Aerococcus viridans (1 strains) – isolated from cooked meat products were evaluated to identify their probiotic properties, including tolerance to low pH, tolerance to taurocholic acid and bile, coaggregation, autoaggregation and adherence to HEp-2 epithelial cells. Fifty percent of the strains were intolerant to low pH and simulated gastric juice. All strains grew in taurocholic acid and bile concentrations greater than 0.3%, indicating they are good probiotic candidates. Less than 20% of the strains coaggregated with an E. coli indicator while 30% coaggregated with a Salmonella strain. Eight of the strains exhibited good autoaggregation capacity at 24 h and all ten had a high adherence capacity for HEp-2 cells. The studied thermotolerant lactic acid bacteria are promising ingredients in the production of cooked meat products with probiotic potential.