Evaluation of in vitro probiotic potential of phytase‐producing bacterial strain as a new probiotic candidate

Summary Sixty-three phytase-producing bacterial strains were isolated from natural sources, and their probiotic potential was evaluated. Of these, only fifteen strains were selected on the basis of confirmatory plate assay. Among these, five phytase-producing strains exhibiting potent probiotic properties were identified as Bacillus cereus P1, Bacillus subtilis P6, B. subtilis P7, Pseudomonas aeruginosa P12 and P. aeruginosa P15 on the basis of morphological, biochemical and molecular characteristics. Maximum phytase activity (2.74 EU mL−1) with potential probiotic properties, that is more than 70% survivability at pH 2.0, up to 2.0% bile salt tolerance, sporulation efficiency of more than 80% and survival in anaerobic condition (94.31%), was revealed by B. subtilis P6 as compared to the well-established commercial probiotic strains Lactobacillus sporogenes and Lactobacillus casei. Thus, phytase-producing B. subtilis P6 with promising probiotic features can be used in food and animal feed applications for betterment of mankind after further validation.