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.