Thermotolerant Bacteriocin-Producing Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Thai Local Fermented Foods and Their Bacteriocin Productivity

Twenty-one samples of Thai local fermented foods were screened for thermotolerant bacteriocin-producing lactic acid bacteria. From 529 isolates of lactic acid bacteria, 121 isolates were able to inhibit the growth of certain bacterial strains. Of these 121 isolates, only 11 produced antibacterial agents that were capable of inhibiting the growth of multiple bacterial strains in a liquid medium. One strain (KKU 170) of these 11 isolates produced an antibacterial agent that could strongly inhibit the growth of selected strains of gram-positive bacteria including Listeria sp. The antibacterial agent produced by the strain KKU 170 was identified as a bacteriocin since it was inactivated by proteinase K treatment. The strain KKU 170 was identified as Pediococcus acidilactici by both biochemical tests and molecular biological techniques. Optimal production of bacteriocin by the strain KKU 170 was found in culture medium containing 0.2% glucose, at an initial culture pH of 6.5, and temperature of 45 oC. The maximum bacteriocin activity (1600 AU ml-1) was reached at the late exponential phase of growth and displayed primary metabolite production. The partially purified bacteriocin of the strain KKU 170 was tolerant to heat treatment at 121 oC for 30 min.