Isolation and identification of probiotic Lactobacillus species from traditional drink kunun-zaki fortified with paddy rice and sweet potatoes

The present study was conducted to determine the probiotic properties of the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from Kunun-zaki processed with different thickeners. Kunun-zaki was processed using 50:50 and 80:20 millet and sorghum. A total of seven isolates that is, Lactobacillus (Lb.) lactis, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus brevis, Lb. acidophilus, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus delbrueckii and Lactobacillus plantarum were isolated. The isolated LAB showed good growth in the presence of 1% NaCl but none at 10% NaCl except L. plantarum. The susceptibility of isolated Lactobacillus toward selected pathogenic organisms was determined using standard agar well diffusion method. Lb. plantarum was predominant and showed the most significant antimicrobial inhibition against tested pathogenic strains (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus haemolyticus and Klebsiella pneumoniae) tested followed by Lb. casei. The results of this study showed that LAB species isolated from Kunun-zaki processed fulfill the most common criteria of probiotic bacteria. Therefore, numerous probiotic products can be developed from Kunun-zaki.   Key words: Probiotics, kunun-zaki, Lactobacillus spp., antimicrobial inhibition.