Lack of Mutagenicity, Genotoxicity, and Cytotoxicity in the Safety Assessment of Native Probiotic Strains Isolated from Feces

Genetic toxicity of five native probiotic strains of Lactobacillus species isolated from healthy individuals was evaluated, including two strains of L. plantarum and one strain of L. brevis, L. reuteri, and L. rhamnosus. In this study, Ames test, in vitro mammalian chromosome aberration test, and micronucleus test on peripheral blood of mice were performed for probiotic samples. The Ames test performed for two Salmonella typhimurium strains TA 98 and TA100 did not show an increase in reverse mutation due to exposure to the test substances. The frequency of chromosome aberrations in CHO cells did not increase in response to probiotic treatment. In addition, none of the tested strains increased the frequency of micronucleated reticulocytes in reticulocytes, the test substances with the studied doses caused no substantial variation in the experimental groups compared to the negative control group (p >0.05). Overall, toxicity assessment studies showed that native probiotic strains lacked mutagenic effects on different organisms. According to the present study results, native probiotic strains have a high potential for use in the food and pharmaceutical industries.